Thoughts from Adam Foster
Agenda
ShipStation
Brand Voice & Tone
Voice vs. tone
• Your brand personality is composed of tone and voice and all the elements that make an individual unique and establish identity
• Brand voice stays the same
• Brand tone adapts to when, where, and to whom we’re speaking
Voice principles
• Shipping experts: Build trust and understanding through honesty and empathy
• Problem solvers: We pursue solutions because we know it makes lives easier. We speak accurately and intelligently about our product to illustrate how we can empower users to grow.
• Adaptability: No matter where or how you ship, we accommodate your shipping needs. From starter plans to enterprise plans we customize your shipping solution.
Brand voice + design
• We need consistency in our copy, our design, and in our brands
• Voice and tone isn't the same thing as writing good copy or having strong messaging. It's about using design and copy to create a distinct and recognizable brand
• Design + Copy = A seamless recognizable brand
ShipStation
Brand Evolution 2020
ShipStation at a Glance
An Evolution, Not a Revolution
Presented by
Noah Suppin Design Lead
Austin Faggard Visual Designer
Claire Queally Lead Designer
The Problems
Inefficient Workflow for Design Team • Lack of brand guidelines = time wasted every day making major designs decisions • Creating too many assets from scratch Accessibility Issues • Robert and Susannah will elaborate more next Thursday (everyone should attend!) Dated Look & Feel • Friction across the customer journey — what if someone visits us through Shopify?
Our Solutions
Visual Consistency • Established by a thorough style guide Accessible Type & Color • Making the .com AA compliant User-first, seamless experience • A seamless transition from partner sites The result: Higher conversion rates and the ability to attract more talent
Takeaways from our Brand Workshop Culture
Customers
Look & Feel
Voice & Tone
X-Factor
• Authoritative
• Multi-channel
• Reliable
• Functional
• Valuable content
• Intelligent
• Small/Medium/ Large businesses
• Spotlight on product
• Frictionless
• Most carriers
• Clear
• Multi-channel
• Passionate about their products
• User-First
• Problem solvers
• Features & Benefits • Helps business sell more • Saves the customer money
“SMB’s feel overwhelmed; Less is more.”
“ShipStation is a really technical company and we’re just now getting into relationship-building”
“The Customer Voice — where is it in all of that (referring to current website)?“
“This feels 2020“
“We want to talk about benefits, not features”
We’re utilizing the most successful design elements from the past 6 months and creating rules to move forward.
How do we know these are the right decisions?
Roboto is boring • System font created for Android in 2011 and a standard for most Google apps
Typefaces are an extension of voice and tone • Think about it… would you wear a suit to work in this office?
Already an existing brand, we want to build on our brand equity We experimented with a LOT of typefaces • Other options were too friendly, too stuffy… no option reflected our authoritative/trustworthy brand persona
Our solution: Graphik • Geometric San Serif • 18 font weights allows for flexibility to match the context
Our solution: Graphik
Existing brand colors
New brand colors
Koamaru
Moss
SS Legacy
Taupe
RGB #FBF2EB CMYK PMS
RGB #7BAAA1 CMYK PMS
RGB #82869A CMYK PMS
RGB #F8ECE2 CMYK PMS
RGB #4F8D82 CMYK PMS
RGB #595E79 CMYK PMS
RGB #F4DFCE CMYK PMS
RGB #297768 CMYK PMS
RGB #2F3657 CMYK PMS
RGB #B7A79B CMYK PMS
RGB #1B554A CMYK PMS
RGB #181B2C CMYK PMS
We’re getting a trim
Logo Adjustments
GAP
GEAR IS TOO CLOSE WITH N
Our Plan
Main goals: • Increase efficiency • Decrease production time • Increase conversion rates
Key Deliverable: Web Style Guide • Brand Overview • Voice and tone/Vocal Guide • Logos (Do’s and Don’ts) • Typography (Web & Print) • Colors • High-level UI patterns for marketing site • Guidelines for icons, pictograms, imagery
Timeline: 3-4 weeks (depending on workload)
We need your help going forward • Are we asking the right questions? • Feedback? • Let’s work together!