The first step in approaching the visual identity update was to identify which elements of the brand still serve their function, what elements should be depreciated and which, for logistical reasons, need to stay the same.
While a significant amount of work went toward developing a new logotype and brand identity, ultimately we had to concede that a complete overhaul would be too disruptive for a business which was, at the time, in a constant state of flux.
To that end we decided that the hero colour Orange and the logo would remain the same while we worked on updating the rest of the visual identity.
During this time Zowie was shifting its strategy in order to attract customers in the Enterprise space, after years of focusing on D2C E-commerce businesses.
To achieve a brand that better targets that audience we started by updating the secondary colours, from shades of beige to colder greys that feel more adult, while moving away from washed out dark greys toward deep black on Headings and buttons.
Buttons were squared off to increase visual sharpness, the hero typeface was changed from a friendly, soft geometric font to a cleaner, more "techy" font, and colours were expanded to create more dynamism in the designs.
We also developed a new illustration style for the brand and introduced more human, dynamic photography to counteract the concept of AI Agents as customer support agents while recognising that AI in this context needs to feel human.
While not all elements were kept over time, the below examples offer a side to side comparison of where we started and where we ended up.
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