Aida Visual Identity

Exploring identity

I knew in vague terms how I wanted the interface to feel based on the persona. Megan is in a vulnerable position and feeling a sense of isolation and grief. To help her feel comforted and supported, I wanted to communicate a feeling of being cozy and warm.

One important design consideration was that people with PCS often have sensitivity to light, which can exacerbate symptoms. This meant the design had to maintain a dark colour palette.

First attempt

The first moodboard I made was filled with images of cozy scenes; mostly fires on a cold night. What this translated to in colours was blues and oranges. In terms of visual identity, it was communicating a colder, more corporate vibe. I could see that I had gone wrong somewhere and hadn’t found the right way to communicate the feeling.

first moodboard

Click to see what Aida might look like in an alternate universe

with feeling this time!

For my second attempt, I took a more strategic approach. Instead of looking for a general cozy feeling, I spent time defining the brand identity. Keeping Megan’s needs in mind, I went through a multitude of adjectives to find the ones that would speak to her the most.

The result was a list of words that conveyed how the interface should help Megan feel. Pinpointing a few key adjectives led to a renewed search for colour inspiration. This time, I found images that reflected those target words and ended up with a more diverse set that maintained a cohesive look.

second moodboard

Meet Aida

This new direction also effected an evolution for the face of the brand. My first wireframes included a robot avatar, which then evolved into a more human but still quite flat face. As the brand identity emerged, that flat icon became a more characterized avatar. I envisioned that the face could change depending on the tone of the conversation to make her feel more human than robot.

the evolution of aida

I brainstormed names that I could put to this face and the brand. The search was on for names with a relevant meaning and a human feel. There were many possibilities but I kept coming back to one name.

Aida conveys the purpose of help and still sounds humanized. It is also unique enough that you wouldn't be likely to hear it outside the context of the brand.

Communicating value

For the marketing website, the copy was just as important as the visual design. This part felt like a crash course in copywriting. My biggest challenge was finding the right ways to communicate the value Aida could bring to Megan’s life at the same time as I was learning what a value proposition consists of.

The website could be the first point of contact users have with the brand so I aimed to communicate the value of being understood in an approachable and empathetic way. I’m still not sure if I have it exactly right and the next step would be A/B testing to find which headline and sub-headline resonate most with target users.

Responsive design & response

To make the marketing page more flexible, I considered how the website would work when moving between mobile and desktop. I found it helpful to create content flow diagrams to visualize how the page would react at different breakpoints.

The final outcome was a product page that attempts to communicate every aspect of identity I explored throughout the process. Although I wasn't able to formally test it, I did receive feedback that echos the design's purpose. One of the initial interviewees expressed support for the dark colour scheme. To my delight, others described the colour choices as "nostalgic", "comforting", and "cozy".