Ideaspace | QBO Brand Refresh

In a recent strategic realignment, IdeaSpace and QBO Innovation have united to form a cohesive entity, guided by unified leadership while preserving two distinct brand identities. IdeaSpace, renowned as the Philippines’ premier startup enabler, oversees IdeaSpace Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to early-stage Filipino technology startups, and QBO Innovation, a public-private initiative serving as IdeaSpace’s programmatic arm, facilitating startup development programs and initiatives across the country and region. Despite this merger on a legal level, there remains a noticeable lack of visual coherence between the brands, highlighting the imperative for a comprehensive rebranding endeavor to establish a unified and cohesive identity within the Philippine Startup Ecosystem.

Despite years of shared work in the startup space, IdeaSpace and QBO were still perceived as separate entities — with little visual, verbal, or strategic alignment. IdeaSpace was seen as the corporatebacked accelerator, while QBO was often mistaken as a government entity. With IdeaSpace setting its sights on becoming a full-fledged VC platform in the coming years, the need for a clear, modernized brand system became critical.

To bridge the gap between two distinct but related brands, we developed a unified identity system grounded in clarity, cohesion, and flexibility — while retaining each brand’s unique strengths.

Lack of Visual and Messaging Cohesion Despite operating as one organization, IdeaSpace and QBO still appear as two unrelated brands. This disconnect leads to stakeholder confusion and weakens brand recognition. There’s a clear need for unified messaging and a cohesive visual identity to reflect the organization’s realigned structure and shared purpose.

Strong Internal Alignment on Values, But Limited Visibility Balancing Teams resonate with shared values like innovation, unity, resilience, and collaboration, yet feel these aren’t consistently reflected in how the brand shows up. There’s a desire for clearer communication, stronger internal engagement, and better recognition of team and community contributions.

Dual Identity Needs Clarity and Flexibility IdeaSpace’s future as a VC platform and QBO’s role as a nationwide programmatic arm requires a brand system that can flex across audiences — from startup founders to government partners. A hybrid brand architecture must support both autonomy and synergy