SCImago

SCImago is a world-leading company in data analysis and the creation of metrics related to the scientific field. Thanks to its open knowledge solutions, complemented by consulting services, the team —comprised entirely of professionals with doctoral degrees— enables the academic world to harness the power of information.

SCImago is also a pioneering organization led by Félix de Moya (University of Granada, CSIC). Despite the prestige gained in the sector where they originated, they decided to explore other avenues to provide more value to organizations and society. This is the context in which SCImago Media Rankings was born, the portal that measures the impact of the world's leading media outlets.

They came to Soluble with the need to showcase the valuable work behind the data so that journalists, researchers, and institutional leaders can leverage it for the benefit of the media system and society.

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A rara avis

During the immersion process, we conducted extensive benchmarking and interviews with the project leaders. Through this work, we discovered that SCImago Media Rankings was, above all, a very unique entity. It was not an audience measurement company, nor was it an academic project. But it had the DNA of both. It operated at the intersection, a space that had been neglected until now.

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The elixir

Since the consolidation of the internet as the primary source of readers for print media, audience measurement has played a fundamental role. Editors, depending on their interests, have used various sources. Thus, they always came out looking good. A global, objective, and independent view of the digital reputation of journalistic companies was needed.

Thus, advertisers and communications directors, for example, can understand the impacts that were truly significant for their brands. And citizens can clearly identify the most prestigious media outlets.

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Understanding to align and encapsulate

All roads led us to the same place: SCImago Media Rankings operates in the realm of proactive trust. Offering curated information, as well as reliable and transparent data managed by a top-tier team, both from SCImago and collaborators with a highly relevant background in journalism.

The purpose of all of them? To drive useful journalism through knowledge.

We are talking about a utility that stems from the trust provided by scientific rigor and the absence of conflicts of interest. Utility for society, for information professionals, and even for journalism students.

All this while SCImago seeks synergies with other tools, such as the SCImago Institutions Ranking, to grow consistently and take the power of data beyond current boundaries. Three pillars to summarize the reality of a wise and authoritative brand.

A brand that identifies with the personality of a principal investigator, knowledgeable in academia and concerned about the impact of their academic work.

Visual identity for the future

The SCImago universe is rich and very interesting. That's why we had to think short, medium, and long term. Respecting the elements that already worked and were recognizable, such as the representative color of this project in relation to the rest of the company's verticals. And also creating a brand identity that was scalable and could be transferred to the entire portfolio —even to a parent brand— when the time came. The first basic element of the visual identity is the module system, which is inspired by SCImago's characteristic graphics and brings to life a useful layout for any digital application.

The modules also served as the seed for the logomark, a geometric, simple, and digital proposal whose logic can be transferred to other projects with clear guidelines. Agility and reducing uncertainty as SCImago grows and addresses changes in its brands.

The second element is the inspiration from the editorial and scientific world: conveying the proactive trust, expertise, and neutrality that characterize the organization is an indispensable strategic matter. The typography, legible at any weight, also follows this line.

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Verbal identity, journalistic identity

To complete the set of tangible elements that activate the brand, we developed a verbal identity inspired by journalistic writing and smart brevity. Structured (in)formation that facilitates reading and is supported by the expertise of the SCImago team.

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Product and Content Design

This project supporting SCImago Media Rankings culminated in a new website, the main point of contact for accessing and leveraging the data SMR offers.

We developed a new homepage structure to more clearly communicate the utility of its tools, also considering the integration of data visualizations created by the team with SCImago Graphica.

We also addressed the design, building upon the new identity, and leveraged UX writing —along with new verbal resources— to clearly communicate what SCImago Media Rankings is, what it offers, and, naturally, its core strategic elements.

Following this project, we continue to work with SCImago to ensure it appears as excellent a company as it truly is. We'll share more soon. Much more.