Role & Responsibilities
Lead Designer - Research & Analysis, Concept Development, Visual Design, Character Design, Client Collaboration, Brand Guidelines, Presentation and Strategy
Timeline
1.5 Months
Team
Thunderclap Team
Industries
Web Development and Design
Branding and Marketing
Technology
Creative Services & Consulting
Overview
Thunderclap, a Webflow agency targeting mid-size to enterprise companies, needed a brand refresh that reflects its expertise in building scalable websites and design solutions. My role was to develop a new brand identity that symbolizes strength, scalability, and enterprise-grade solutions. After extensive research, we decided on a Viking-inspired theme featuring a dragon as the brand mascot, representing power and growth.
Target Audience
Mid-size to enterprise companies
The Problem
Challenge: Thunderclap’s existing brand identity was visually inconsistent, lacked differentiation from competitors, and failed to reflect the innovative, high-quality services they provide to mid-size and enterprise clients.
No unified color system: Leading to inconsistent branding across touchpoints.
Accessibility issues: Poor contrast ratios and lack of compliance with accessibility standards.
Generic visual identity: Making it hard to stand out in a competitive market.
Highlights
Research & Inputs
The brand redesign process began with a collaborative effort between Thunderclap’s internal team and our design team. The Thunderclap team provided key strategic inputs, including:
Messaging Document: Outlined the brand’s tone of voice, value propositions, and core messaging.
Buyer Website Journey Map: Identified the typical user journey and highlighted key pain points and engagement opportunities.
Buyer Personas & pain points: Detailed the characteristics desires, goals, and aspirations of our ideal customers of Thunderclap’s target audience, ensuring the redesign addressed their needs.
Value Proposition Statement: Highlighted Thunderclap’s promise to deliver innovative, high-quality, end-to-end Webflow design and development solutions tailored for mid-size and enterprise companies.
Conducted comprehensive research to guide the redesign of Thunderclap’s brand identity. This included competitor analysis and stakeholder interviews to ensure alignment with business objectives and market positioning.
Key Insights
CEO wanted a brand that reflected Thunderclap’s innovative spirit and positioned it as a premium, cutting-edge agency capable of delivering end-to-end solutions for mid-size to enterprise companies.
CTO: The CTO prioritized creating a scalable website architecture that would allow the internal team to use the design system efficiently for future expansion. They stressed the importance of designing a modular system that would allow the team to create additional pages quickly and consistently.
Retention of Core Color: The Thunderclap team wanted to retain their signature green color, which was crucial for brand recognition.
Visual Exploration
Using the insights gained from research and inputs, I initiated a visual exploration phase to identify a unique and memorable direction for Thunderclap’s brand identity. This phase involved:
Exploring multiple themes such as minimalist, futuristic, and bold geometric styles.
Conducting brainstorming sessions and creative workshops to align the visual direction with the brand’s goals.
Final Direction
The team ultimately gravitated toward a Nordic-inspired theme for its clean, structured aesthetic and timeless appeal. This theme aligned perfectly with Thunderclap’s values of innovation, reliability, and strength.
Final Outcome
The redesign successfully addressed all key challenges, delivering a cohesive and distinctive brand identity:
Nordic-Inspired Theme: Positioned Thunderclap as a bold, innovative, and reliable partner for mid-size to enterprise companies.
Dragon Mascot: Created a memorable brand element that resonated with the target audience and reinforced the brand’s values.
Improved Accessibility: Enhanced usability across digital platforms, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards.
Scalable Design System: Equipped the internal team with tools to maintain consistency and expand the brand seamlessly.
Key Learning
Introducing a dragon character initially seemed unconventional, but refining its design and integrating it with a Nordic theme resulted in a professional and cohesive brand identity. This approach demonstrated that even bold or unconventional ideas can be professional and effective when executed thoughtfully, aligning with the brand’s goals and enhancing its distinctiveness.
Selected Case Studies
