The Brief
A renowned American photographer dreamed of creating a mentoring platform where expert artists share their knowledge and give feedback, portfolio reviews, and technical advice to novice creatives while earning extra income. The challenge was to capture that visionary frame, develop a picture-perfect brand, and expose the platform's full potential, painting a vivid canvas of opportunity for both mentors and aspiring artists.
The Challenge
The founder of Icon had a visionary idea —an innovative platform that would reframe the future for emerging creatives.
Being in the midst of a fundraising campaign, Icon needed a compelling brand identity, a user-friendly website, and a mentorship platform that could clearly communicate the vision and entice photographers to join as Icons.
Additionally, it had to catch the eye of potential investors. This platform would serve as the hub for developing mentorship sessions, sparking inspiration, zooming new talent, and empowering young artists.
The Solution
We kicked off the process with our collaborative Lite Branding Workshop to capture valuable insights for designing Icon's branding.
Building upon this workshop's outcomes, we crafted the essential brand elements. First, we created a standout logo that snapped Icon’s essence, making it memorable and easily recognizable.
To ensure a consistent and visually appealing design, we developed a UI Style Guide. This guide set the scene for the platform's design principles, components, interactions, and visual elements like buttons, forms, typography, colors, icons, and spacing.
#030212
#EFF0F1
#F85351
#FFFFFF
#030212
to #353441
#F85351
to #A83F3E
Nunito Sans
Aa
Regular
A B C D E F G H J I J K L M N O P R Q S T U V X Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w x y z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ! * ( ) ? , ; -
Manrope
Aa
Extra bold
A B C D E F G H J I J K L M N O P R Q S T U V X Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w x y z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ! * ( ) ? , ; -
But we didn't stop there. We also created a Copy Playbook to guide the brand's voice and messaging, rendering Icon’s identity at its best.
All these fresh visuals were composed into a carefully planned UX structure, providing an exceptional user experience for both mentor photographers and mentorees.
With the UX structure designed, we proceed with the production sequence: we sketched wireframes to validate functionality and layout. Then we applied a standing-out visual design to delight users and finally, we put it all together into a prototype ready for web development, bringing the vision of Icon to life.
The Results
At the end of this process, Icon emerged with a fresh and captivating brand identity that truly portrays its essence. Clear guidelines were established to effectively communicate with its target audiences. And, most importantly, a user-centric Web App design was achieved with a development-ready prototype that set the stage for the platform's success.
Some of the deliverables Icon took home:
An updated logo that better expresses their values and services
A consistent visual identity they can apply to future projects
A brand new website with optimized design and copywriting
It was truly fulfilling for us to bring Icon to life and witness its remarkable broadening. We are proud to see the successful fundraising campaign and the growing number of photographers who have enthusiastically joined as Icons.