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Blues Brand Design

Role

UIUX Product Designer

Client

Blues Wireless

Deliveries

UX Research, Brand, A11Y, WCAG, Icon library, Typography, Colors, Styleguide

Challenge

Blues Wireless needs an official recognizable brand identity

Objectives

#1 Design company's brand logo, colors, identity, style guide.

#2 Create an integrated walk-through guide for users

#3 Improve layout design consistency while navigating across products and pages.

#4 Optimize web application for usability, accessibility and performance.

#5 Conduct UX research on solutions for boosting site traffic and social media presence.

Research

In order to create a unique brand identity, I needed to define what Notehub is, who it is for, and how it can help automate and positively impact the lives of our potential customers. Also, it is necessary to define who are our target customers and competitors and what makes our product stand out.

Definition

A hosted service for securely routing Notecard data to your cloud application of choice. Manage fleets of devices, update host and Notecard firmware over-the-air.

From the definition and a few brainstorming sessions with my team, I came up with keywords that encapsulate what the product is all about.

Keywords

Notecard, Noteboard, IOT, AI, esp32, mobile, circuit, board, sensor, tracking, smart device, chip, mcu, control, wireless, remote, cloud, sync, json, network, card, automation, tracking, sensing, motherboard, technology, transfer, connection, communication, data, access.

And then finally from the definition and keywords I brainstormed ideas for the brand logo, colors, and style guide.

Design

The idea was to create something iconic and representative of Notehub and smart IOT devices and so the concept design was centered around the letter N and dots connecting to each other. The dots pattern evolved into a circuit board forming the shape N. I went with a square instead of a circular shape to be more in alignment with a Notecard device. I adopted the rounded edges of the notecard to give it a softer more organic feel, which represent contemporary, mainstream, connection, community, and approachability and also makes it more recognizable at a distance.
The general feedback for the initial sketches and color scheme was positive, however I needed to take a deeper dive into how the logo, colors, and design style represented the product and the overall company and write up a guide of how it would be used digitally and in print.

Impact

Having an official brand identity was a huge added value to the company and was greatly loved by all, internally and also our customers. It added a professional, trustworthy look and feel. It was recognizable which improved our marketing and social media presence and boosted traffic to the site.

Reflections

#1 Brand is key —Having a brand identity is immensely important for establishing presence and a network of trust and recognition between a company, its employees and customers.

#2 Design is a non-linear iterative process that cannot be rushed —Because of tight deadlines, my original approach was digital and fixated on results rather than the process and impact. We had to adjust the delivery deadline and go through every step of the design process for success.

#3 Too much is never enough —Giving people too many options to choose from or getting too much user feedback can be paralyzing. I found it productive to be selective with which designs I chose for my presentations to the team, and also ensure feedback I received was in alignment with general design direction.

Through the design and development process at Blues Wireless, I’ve learned a lot about hardware, data, user research, project management, decision-making, compliance, and engineering.

Notehub Brand - Sketches

Notehub Brand - Logo Design

Notehub Brand Identity

Notehub Brand - Colors Exploration

Notehub Brand - WCAG Usability Survey - View Web Accessibility Results

Notehub Brand - Color Optimization

Notehub Brand - Style Guide