ICNC: Unifying Chicago's Business Incubation Network

Client

ICNC (Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago)

Sector

Industrial

Service

Websites

Industrial

Snapshot

ICNC, a non-profit economic development organisation, needed a website unifying three distinct sub-brands. Through strategic website development, we established a cohesive digital presence serving multiple stakeholder groups.

Brand Challenge

Three sub-brands, different audiences

Website Delivered

Unified Digital Presence

Clear Navigation

Distinct conversion pathways

The Brief

ICNC operates two flagship incubators — The Hatchery for culinary startups and Make City for manufacturing businesses — plus Impact Culinary Training.

Their existing website – previously in development for two years with multiple stakeholder changes – had become disjointed. The site failed to reflect distinct sub-brand identities, lacked cohesive flow between pages and provided insufficient information for different audiences.

The site therefore needed a new strategic direction – with clear pathways for tenants, donors and programme participants – all while having a unified brand presence across three distinct operations.

Solution

Our website work commenced with a comprehensive strategy that established foundations. We developed distinct personas for culinary entrepreneurs, manufacturing businesses and corporate investors, and created strategic conversion pathways serving each group. We then wireframed priority pages establishing content hierarchy and information architecture.

Our design strategy incorporated vibrant imagery from a client photoshoot, established colour systems for each sub-brand and created cohesive visual language reflecting the energy of Chicago’s entrepreneurial community.

As a result, each sub-brand received a specific coloured brand identity, enabling each brand to have a distinct personality while tying into ICNC’s parent brand.

Strategic messaging was also produced, with the copy balancing benefits with practical information, which addressed each persona’s specific needs.

Results

The strategic website work successfully unified ICNC’s digital presence while maintaining distinct sub-brand identities.

Clear conversion pathways now guide culinary entrepreneurs, manufacturing businesses and corporate investors to relevant information without confusion.

Establishing a clear visual identity brought a modern, vibrant personality reflecting the community inhabiting these spaces. Meanwhile, strategic messaging shifted perception from charity to empowerment opportunity.

The work has positioned ICNC for accelerated growth across tenant acquisition, donor partnerships and programme participation.

Sub-brands unified

The Hatchery, Make City and Impact received distinct brand identities and colour systems while maintaining ICNC parent brand cohesion.

Multiple pages delivered

Comprehensive website strategy covered multiple sub-brand pages, establishing cohesive foundations across priority touchpoints.

Persona pathways created

Strategic navigation served culinary entrepreneurs, manufacturing businesses and corporate investors with tailored conversion paths.

Business objectives served

Strategy work established the key foundations before execution, ensuring purposeful design and messaging served ICNC’s business objectives.

“Digital lead generation is a critical need for our organisation. In a very short time, Move’s team demonstrated a deep understanding of the diverse audiences we serve and created an engaging website that guides prospects to relevant information and clear calls to action. The team’s depth of knowledge, systematic approach, and clear communication throughout our project was outstanding. We couldn’t be more pleased with the partnership and results.”

Maria Moran

CEO, ICNC

Related Case Studies