How an ambitious biotech rose from startup to unicorn
Services PROVIDED:
BRAND STRATEGY
VISUAL & VERBAL IDENTITY
BRAND GUIDELINES
MARKETING ASSETS
WEBSITE/UI DESIGN
Traina and 10x Genomics have been partners almost since the beginning: from the company’s startup days through its unicorn status and now as a longstanding industry leader. All throughout, we’ve kept the 10x brand moving, evolving its expression and making sure they stand out in a now-crowded biotech space. With their 10th anniversary this year, we’re celebrating with a collection of greatest hits from our enduring partnership:
PRODUCT CAMPAIGNS
The latest launch
With the 2021 launch of Chromium X, 10x Genomics revealed their most flexible instrument to date, packed with features that open up new worlds of research applications. Traina developed a full launch campaign anchored around a flagship digital experience composed of two parts—one direction focused on the functionality and features, the other immersing the viewer into remarkable new research opportunities.
The product side of the microsite allows for exploration of features and video content detailing the history and purpose behind making Chromium X. On the research side, a dynamic subway map lays out five audience-specific journeys that illustrate how the platform can accomplish specific research goals and enhance the user experience at every step.
The website overall presents a variety of macro and micro perspectives in which the audience can find a specific reason why the platform is right for them and their research. Chromium X quickly became a market leader, and its digital experience likewise led its field—recognized as an honoree in the 2020 Webby Awards for science web and mobile sites.
Interactive campaign microsite to promote the new Chromium X instrument.
BRAND ORIGINS
Built in six weeks, now seven years strong
But back in 2015, 10x Genomics was a three-year-old startup with only big ideas, one instrument, and their first booth at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference coming up in six weeks. Our partnership began fast and furiously inside this timeframe, developing their core brand: a sophisticated visual identity, messaging that captured current and future offerings, packaging that made it real and a website that presented a polished brand to potential investors.
Beyond the range of deliverables produced and the degree of quality achieved in such a short span of time, it’s truly remarkable how such a lasting and unique creative partnership was forged inside of two months. But the crucible of urgency often does engender qualities on which a relationship thrives: close collaboration, confidence and an unprecedented level of trust, all of which were carried through and built upon in the ensuing years of 10x’s brand journey.
The original homepage for the first 10x Genomics website.
The first-ever product brochure introducing 10x’s technology and applications.
Original product packaging featuring a color-coded system and custom illustration.
INTERNAL CAMPAIGNS
Becoming extraordinary
After attracting investors and making waves in the industry, 10x’s rapid expansion created the need for an internal campaign, a company-wide endeavor to ensure alignment in growth and give employees clarity around 10x’s purpose, direction and impact.
In what became the 10xtraordinary campaign, Traina unearthed a compelling story from internal messaging and made it fully realized in a publication to inspire and engage new and existing 10xers alike. The campaign introduced the core principles, captured their position and value proposition for customers, and lent insights on how the company was responding to trends in the industry.
Traina approached the project from the mindset of an employee, making sure takeaways were clear and accessible in bold callouts, and creating illustrations and graphics that brought content to life. Where the idea of “10xtraordinary” was once buried in copy, we brought it to the fore and made it a concept that the whole company could rally around.
The “Be 10xtraordinary” campaign brochure highlighting trends in the industry and what it means to be extraordinary—the 10x way.
BRAND CAMPAIGNS
The heart in science
By 2020, 10x Genomics had several more products with robust campaigns for each, giving them a hold on the market and tremendous recognition for their tech. But it was time for a brand campaign to enhance their messaging and firmly position them as a leader in the industry. Traina constructed a novel campaign to draw a clear line from the collaboration between 10x and their customers to the impact it makes in the world—saving lives and improving well-being for real people.
The campaign speaks deeply and directly to the motivation of their customer base, making researchers the star and showing the heart inside them being the driving force behind their work with 10x. Traina executed the full campaign: concept, messaging, photoshoots and asset creation—a suite of digital advertising, plus print ads in all major industry magazines, slide decks, and a microsite that was also a Webby honoree for corporate communications websites.
A campaign microsite rich in motion and emotion, demonstrating how researchers can partner with 10x to solve the world’s most complex diseases.
Cover tip ad to promote the campaign in Science, a leading biotech publication.
A collection of digital banner ads ran on the top life-science websites.
Behind-the-scenes look at the photoshoot that Traina planned and directed for the campaign.
VIRTUAL EVENTS
A versatile event experience
And of course, the pandemic spurred unique innovations for the 10x Genomics brand, namely their Xperience, a virtual trade show and conference that combines user group sessions, panel discussions, new product announcements and keynote addresses from leadership. For this now-annual event, Traina developed a core visual system in which iconographic shapes representing facets of 10x tech allow for myriad applications yet retain a cohesive aesthetic.
Employing a geometric shape language in a modular system, visuals can form in infinite expressions and even incorporate scientific elements like visualized data and cell tissue imagery without any one element overwhelming the composition. With a broad range of applications—dense or sparse, light or dark—the system is versatile in supporting any number of use cases—registration landing pages, promotional banner ads and all manner of social media.
Homepage of the digital event space where users joined sessions, reviewed their schedule and networked.
Custom designed speaker backgrounds for all panelists and presenters.
Print flyer targeted towards researchers, inviting them to register for the event.
A decade of brand leadership
Built with speed, evolving with business, driving success and never resting in its present state, 10x Genomics is a model for how a brand can move and be moved with the right creative partner. Traina is proud to have come so far with a leader in biotech, and looks forward to the new ways in which we will bring the brand through its next decade.
