Yanlong Biotechnology Brand Identity: A Gene, a Y and a Sprout in One Loop

A gene, a Y and a sprout in one loop

In 2020, Xinming Design created the new brand logo and visual identity of Yanlong Biotechnology (晏龙国科) for 晏龙国科(山东)科技集团有限公司. The logo is a three lobed blue loop, shading from sky blue to tech blue, that wraps around a rounded letter Y. The design gives the formula: biological gene + brand letter Y + natural health = logo. The outline comes from the soft form of a gene, the space in the middle is the Y of Yanlong, and the layered bands read like a new sprout. Four colours, tech blue, deep sea blue, sky blue and light grey, together with flowing colour blocks enlarged from the curves of the logo, carry the identity to brochures, business cards, letterheads, staff passes, folders and lab coats.

Probiotics, genes and Chinese medicine

Yanlong is a biotechnology company. The design opens with three brand keywords:

· Probiotic Chinese medicine

· Biological gene technology

· Fermented natural medicine

One side of these words is advanced biotechnology; the other is natural Chinese medicine and fermentation. The company's English name is YANLONG BIOTECHNOLOGY.

Biotech logos usually reach for a DNA double helix, a molecule or a green leaf. They show the industry, but rarely which company, and rarely both sides of technology and nature at once.

So the logo had to answer: how can a gene, the brand name and natural health become one figure?

From gene to Y

The design builds the logo in three steps:

· Biological gene: first a soft three lobed outline, like a cell under a microscope, or a section of a gene;

· Brand letter Y: a rounded Y is cut out of the middle of the outline; Y is the initial of Yanlong;

· Natural health: the remaining outline becomes layered, offset bands, like the leaves of a sprout unfolding.

Put the three steps together and you get a blue loop that wraps around a Y. It has the precision of biotechnology and the softness of a growing plant. The loop shades from sky blue at the upper left to tech blue at the lower right, with a slight three dimensional turn, as if it were flowing.

The logo is constructed from arcs: the design uses circles of different sizes to fix the position of each curve, so the mark can be reproduced accurately at any size.

A matching set of lettering

To the right of the logo sit the Chinese name 晏龙国科 and YANLONG BIOTECHNOLOGY. The Chinese characters have even strokes and crisp corners, a contrast to the roundness of the logo; the first character, 晏, is simplified, with its middle component reduced to a single horizontal stroke.

The logo comes in horizontal and stacked bilingual lockups, a reversed version on deep sea blue, a white version on a tech blue gradient, and an app icon version.

Four blues and a grey

The design sets four colours:

· Tech blue (#174DFB): CMYK 90 / 65 / 0 / 0, the main brand colour;

· Deep sea blue (#040557, converted from RGB): CMYK 100 / 100 / 60 / 20, the dark ground for large areas;

· Sky blue (#92DAFC): CMYK 45 / 0 / 0 / 0, the bright part of the logo gradient;

· Light grey (#EFEFEF): CMYK 10 / 5 / 5 / 0, for backgrounds and white space.

Tech blue and sky blue form the gradient of the logo, deep sea blue brings weight, and light grey keeps things clean. The palette uses only blue and grey, not the greens and reds common in pharmaceutical brands, so Yanlong reads more like a research company.

Flowing colour blocks

The supporting graphic comes from the logo itself: its soft curves are enlarged into large flowing colour blocks.

· On brochure covers, blocks of tech blue and sky blue pour in from a corner like liquid;

· On the back of the business card, an arc of deep sea blue sits over tech blue;

· On staff passes, folders and the web page, the same curves divide the layout into a dark part and a light part.

The design also sets three layers for layouts: image, text and supporting graphic, stacked in that order, with the curved blocks always resting on a corner or the bottom edge.

From brochures to lab coats

Stationery

· Business cards, letterheads, envelopes, notebooks, folders

Staff and image

· Staff passes and lanyards

· Lab coats with the logo and bilingual name on the chest

Promotion and digital

· Three brochure covers

· Website home page

· A metallic three dimensional rendering of the logo

The application images on this page are proposal mock-ups; the people on brochures, staff passes and lab coats are stock imagery, and the contact details on the business cards are placeholders.

Deliverables and extensions

Logo design

· Yanlong logo (a blue loop combining a gene, a Y and a sprout)

· Horizontal and stacked bilingual lockups, reversed, single colour and app icon versions

· Construction drawings for the logo and lockups

Core identity

· Colours: tech blue, deep sea blue, sky blue, light grey

· Supporting graphic: flowing curved colour blocks

· Layout: a three layer system of image, text and supporting graphic

Applications

· Stationery: business cards, letterheads, envelopes, notebooks, folders

· Staff and image: staff passes, lab coats

· Promotion and digital: brochure covers, website home page

Looking back

Three points are worth taking from this project:

1. Layer three keywords into one figure. The gene gives the outline, the Y gives the centre, the sprout gives the layers; the three are not placed side by side but stacked into one shape.

2. Write the brand letter with empty space. The Y is not drawn on; it is the space left in the middle of the loop, which keeps the logo simple and lasting.

3. Use only blue and grey. Without the usual pharmaceutical greens and reds, shades of blue are enough to speak for both science and nature.

The logo of a biotech company works best when it makes sense both under a microscope and in the soil.

How to verify

· Client: 晏龙国科(山东)科技集团有限公司

· Brand: Yanlong Biotechnology (晏龙国科)

· Year: 2020

· This case page: www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3207.html

Further reading

· Habotu Coffee Brand Identity: A Coffee Bean Split into Two Rabbit Ears (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3154.html)

· Yikang Pharmacy Brand Upgrade: An OK Gesture, a Cross and a Capsule (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3138.html)

· BIG BUTLER Big Data Brand Identity: Data Pixels That Gather into a D (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3200.html)

FAQ

Who designed the Yanlong Biotechnology logo?

The logo and visual identity of Yanlong Biotechnology (晏龙国科) were designed by Xinming Design in 2020 for 晏龙国科(山东)科技集团有限公司.

What does the Yanlong logo mean?

The design gives the formula biological gene + brand letter Y + natural health = logo: the outline comes from the soft form of a gene, the space in the middle is Y for Yanlong, and the layered bands read like a sprout.

What are the Yanlong brand colours?

Tech blue (#174DFB), deep sea blue (#040557, converted from RGB), sky blue (#92DAFC) and light grey (#EFEFEF).

What is the Yanlong supporting graphic?

Flowing colour blocks enlarged from the curves of the logo, resting on a corner or the bottom edge of brochure covers, business cards, folders, staff passes and web pages.

What did the project include?

The logo and bilingual lockups, construction drawings, a four colour palette, flowing supporting graphics and layout rules, and applications including business cards, letterheads, envelopes, notebooks, folders, staff passes, lab coats, brochure covers and a website home page.

Which brands can learn from this case?

Biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and health companies; brands that want to express both technology and nature; and research led companies that want a lettermark that still carries their industry.

Xinming Design is a brand systems design firm. Its work centres on systematic judgment, turning brand strategy into structures that can run and be inherited. www.xinming.sg