The “Why” Behind Certn’s Brand Evolution


The Why Behind Certn Brand Evolution Banner

We’ve been hard at work on a new brand identity and we’re excited to finally share it with you. Nothing is changing about the products you know and love – we still offer the world’s easiest background checks. Our updated look, headlined by sub-brand consolidation, new splashes of colour, and more intuitive web page layouts, is all designed to empower you in your screening journey.

In this blog post, we discuss our recent brand evolution, including our updated colour scheme and new website. In the spirit of transparency and showing what the creative process looks like for us, we talked to our marketing team about what they took away from the process.

Not Another Background Screening Vendor

The screening industry is full of products and services, but we hear from users all the time that they’re tired of switching between different applications and platforms, and falling victim to slow, clunky processes that undermine their goals.

We all seek ease.

To make things faster and more efficient.

Imagine experiencing that every time you hire. That’s what it’s like to screen with Certn’s online background checks. 

However, we didn’t set out to be another background screening company.

We’re guided by the belief that background checks shouldn’t include any paperwork, but we have an even BIGGER mission. We set out to make sharing information faster and easier and to solve one of society’s hardest problems: building trust. We believe that opportunities increase alongside trust, so we’re improving digital verifications to mobilize greater futures.

Background screening will continue to be a part of our offering to our clients, but we’ve also got our sights set on how credentials are issued, verified, and shared, and how to ensure individuals have access to and control over their data. 

The Goal of Our Rebrand: Evolve to Support the Future

The Certn name is rooted in our company’s commitment to building trust. Our CEO and Co-Founder Andrew McLeod came up with it back in 2016 and it’s been a guiding principle as we’ve expanded our products and services and our global footprint. You can read more about the company’s founding story on our About Us company web page.

At the centre of our hexagon logo, which represents our secure technology, is a heart. The heart is here to show that we care about our users and clients – we’re here to help people, not to scare them into using our services. Our bright, fun-loving colours reflect that we think outside the box to develop innovative products. 

Chris Ellison, Chief Marketing Officer at Certn: “The rebrand had two goals: change the way the industry thinks about background screening and change the way users around the world understand, see, and know Certn. We’ve built a brand representative of the breadth of all we do and the future we want to help build.” Ellison added, “We’re still the company that’s revolutionizing background screening and making it easier and faster to build trust, but now we have a new north star: to mobilize greater futures by brokering trust globally.”

Principles Behind the Certn Brand

We’re happy to announce our new website, marking an exciting milestone in the ongoing evolution of our company’s brand. Over the last seven years, our business has expanded and changed, and now it’s time for our website to change to better represent who we are today and to represent our dynamic future. Our site also has a more modern, clean, and organized layout to help clients find information and resources quickly and easily. 

The Certn logo and our refreshed website – clean, bold, green – celebrates our company’s beginning on the west coast of Canada and reflects the ambition we have to change background screening and how trust is established globally.

Our new look stands for four things:

  1. Opportunity Over Risk – Yes, we’re in the business of risk management and go above-and-beyond to stay compliant, but we’re also focused on positive outcomes beyond mitigating disaster. This includes things like: having more information more quickly, making more informed decisions, having more confidence, scaling businesses globally, hiring from broader talent pools with ease, and building trust.
  2. Solution-Focused – Building trust is important, it doesn’t have to be hard. We believe things can be better, faster, and easier and are here to help our clients accomplish their goals, from global hiring to faster identity verification. This is why we’re proud to offer top-rated usability and candidate support.
  3. Excitement for the Future We’re excited about the opportunities that our technology unlocks. We’re always looking for new ways to leverage AI and automation to deliver better client and candidate experiences and at how we can create more global connections by integrating with popular platforms.
  4. Friendly Support and Guidance – People matter and our customer-centric approach ensures our business continues to grow and succeed. Whether you call, write, or chat, you’ll always talk to a member of our team who knows background screening in your region.

Looking Ahead: Building Trust Globally

Again, we didn’t set out to be another background screening company. As we’ve signaled, our new look and feel extends beyond aesthetics – it’s a true reflection of our ongoing commitment to helping people build trust. To date, we’ve run millions of online background checks, empowering employers and other users with global criminal record checks and identity verification.

While our online background checks that use AI and automation have been instrumental in expediting trust verification, we recognize the need to address broader challenges surrounding identity verification and credential authentication. 

Building Trust at Scale

Our vision for a verifiable credentials network builds on how we’ve disrupted the background screening industry, an industry entrenched in outdated manual processes and paperwork. We’re building the identity infrastructure and enhancing our single global platform with identity features such as verifiable credentials and digital wallets to transform how our clients and users execute checks and exchange data.

In addition to providing a better user experience, we’re also developing this more robust, trustworthy architecture in response to broader trends impacting work and onboarding such as remote users, bring your own device (BYOD), cloud-based services, and self-sovereign identity. 

How does this benefit you? Built on open standards including verifiable credentials and decentralized ID, your data will be more transferable and able to move with you in a digital wallet so you can fast-track verifications. As an employer or property manager, the verifications process will be more efficient, secure, and scalable. Say goodbye to the administrative burden of screening. We’re changing how trust is established. We’re also keeping true to our approach of making things fast and easy. Imagine a world where you verify once, share anywhere. Stay tuned for more information on the verifiable credentials network later this year, but in the meantime we want to thank you again.

A Safer Digital Ecosystem

In wrapping up, we’re so happy to share the culmination of our hard work and dedication – a new brand identity that reflects our commitment to empowering our clients. While our core offering remains unchanged, our updated look signifies our ongoing evolution and commitment to mobilizing greater futures through innovation and trust.

A huge shoutout to Present Company for their incredible work, and heartfelt thanks to our dedicated internal teams for their tireless efforts in making this project a success. Finally, thank you for being part of the Certn community as we embark on this exciting path forward toward a more secure, efficient, and trustworthy digital ecosystem. 

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