A passion project for a chef who wanted to merge his hobby with his work. He was starting up a side business of making wood ovens and requested a logo and some brand assets to post on social media.
The Mission
Introducing the bear.
A small project but lots of heart. This side business wanted to make a splash in the food industry specifically focusing on wood ovens. The idea was to merge the name “Orso” (Italian for ‘bear’) and the product.
Branding
Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
The idea was to have a playful, yet minimal looking logo/brand. After a few iterations it was decided that the colours needed to reflect tradition, Italy, and quality. This is why we opted for a darker pallette for each colour. The playful part comes in the logo itself where I took the profiles of the wood over itself and merged it with the bear, and adding a pizza paddle was the final touch.
View the Samples
Orso tile
Orso tile
Orso tile
Orso tile
Orso tile
Orso tile
The End Result
Executing the strategy by delivering all assets.
Lifting this project off the ground required the basics for a hobby business with a solid foundation to easily scale up the guidelines if this business becomes a lot more than a hobby.
In the Wild
Simple mockups to represent some basic collatoral for demonstration purposes only.
An AI decisioning platform, specific to the financial and lending industries. Software that determines credit risk, fraud, compliance, onboarding and other tasks within the lending space.
The Mission
A revival of the brand and its strategies.
To update the brand on all levels. Internal and external assets, messaging frameworks, templates, tone, look and feel.
Branding
AI focused messaging with a more serious undertone in look and feel.
The first priority was the website. Switching to a dark mode theme let us utilize the brand colours much better and this led the way for all other assets within the company.
The main challenge was to take an existing brand guide which consisted of some bright colours and transform them into something a lot more serious and professional. The colour pallette was adjusted to now use a dark theme in the assets to make the brighter colours pop and app still be AODA compliant. These changes were applied to everything from Zoom backgrounds, to email signatures and everything in between.
By switching to a darker theme for the brand, we applied these concepts to print, swag and digital assets.
Added to the Provenir brand spun off sub projects. Below is an internal branding project for a Sales Kick-Off which included a PPT deck, swag, and many digital assets including a gated sales website portal.
SKO-PaperBag
SKO-PaperBag
SKO-lanyard
Another side project for Provenir is the introduction of a program called “CoLab”. This is a road show where 4 cities are chosen and events are scheduled to network, share ideas, discuss trends, etc. The brand direction here is to appeal to C-level personas, hence the serif fonts and professional look and feel.
The largest brand-name supplier of injection molding equipment to the plastics industry. A comprehensive range of equipment including machines, molds, hot runners, auxiliaries and integrated systems to provide solutions for medical, beverage, packaging and consumer product markets.
The Mission
Re-establish the brand within the industry.
A revamp of the brand perception. This includes both internal and external assets. A process that consisted of interview and data gathering, strategic and creative alignment amoungst the company and CEO and an updated approach to marketing, lead generation, scoring, channel optimization and execution.
Branding
Putting a human element behind the technology.
While many of the players in this industry rely on showcasing their technology and product efficiencies, we made a pivot to focus on the leading technology and engineering that were developed by the people behind the machine. Giving us a chance to adapt our messaging to a bolder tone and solidify a voice that ensures our audience we are the market leader.
Taking on the role of industry dominance and redefining Husky.
Regaining market share in the injection molding industry by adjusting our brand tone as well as embracing new ways to reach audiences via digital channels. Finally, stamping the idea that innovation and engineering comes from the people behind the machine. Confidently stating that “Powered by People” demonstrates passion, resourcefulness and distinctly human traits paired with reliable machines.
There were elements in the print products that not only had to give the visual element of prestige but to also feel prestigious. That being done with the use of higher quality papers, finishes, packaging, printing, and misc. other external facing assets. It all has to point to a bold feel and industry leader persona.
Powerpoint decks were one of the top priorities when rebranding Husky. It was important that the sales staff as well as internal associates followed the brand to retain the look and feel of what we trying to achieve. A deck template was created with Husky theme colours, fonts and layouts which applied to graphs and slides layouts.
Social media and its various channels gave us an opportunity to insert Husky in an area they have not ventured. This allowed us to reach a demographic that exceeded their legacy strategies. By also creating a Podcast, it gave us the chance to showcase our knowledge on industry trends and how to combat or embrace them. These proved fruitful, particularly with carousel campaigns and podcast interviews, as it led to quite a few leads and also increased brand awareness during trade show events.
Conducting user research, scripts, accumulate data, perform competitive audits, create wireframes, branding style sheets, testing, prototyping and iterations.
CHALLENGES
Bulk ticket ordering
Design a site that is easy to navigate for all platforms
Provide a seamless & linear user flow between devices
Kickoff
Increase efficiency for customers to order remotely and avoid line-ups.
Our goal was to design a website which provides users an error-free, easy ordering flow with quick and accurate conversion times.
What is the product and who is it for?
How do we simplify the user experience?
Is there a way to keep the user flow consistent between device sizes?
What challenges could we face moving forward?
Who do we see as our biggest competitors?
What ways can we bring confidence to users after conversion?
Usability research was conducted to determine how much time this saves patrons.
Unmoderated research was conducted where participants were given tasks to perform remotely and detail their feelings, thoughts, and processes. We assumed some aspects would be difficult and some would be easy. We were pleased with our results amongst participants.
Affinity Map
Meet the Users
Persona 1: Matthew
“Movies are a great way to spend time with friends who like to be out of the house.”
Name: Matthew Cristie Age: 16 Education: High-School Student Hometown: Toronto Family: 1 sister, 2 parents Occupation: P/T baker
Goals
– Pre-order availability
– Provide offer/discounts
– Group orders
Frustrations
– Long lines
– Sold-out shows
Matthew is a 16 year old high school student who wants a quick way of pre-ordering movie tickets for him and his friends before the shows sell out on fridays as well as to skip the lines.
Persona 2: Millani
“Taking my grandkids to the movies is ideal for baby sitting”
Name: Millani Truss Age: 54 Education: U of T, MBA Hometown: Toronto Family: husband, 3 grown kids Occupation: Retired Banker
Goals
– Easy to use online ordering
– Finding family friendly options for my grandkids
Frustrations
– Strollers are hard to navigate through with crowds of people
A grandmother of a young children who wants a way to choose seating, order movie tickets and easy to read options available to her via online navigation.
Competitive Audit
We looked at several direct and indirect competitors and this provided direction on gaps and opportunities to address with the Cinema website.
The majority of competitors had similar options when checking out tickets online. However navigation through all competitors’ websites proved to be difficult. These are the opportunities we’ve noticed.
Simpler navigation
Offer seating choices
Preparing the Journey
Overwhelming list of options was a pain point for users, using that knowledge a site map was created.
The goal was to limit the amount of options per page and make them more digestible with the use of layout and flow.
Digital Wireframe
After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created the initial designs for the Cinema website. These designs focused on delivering personalized guidance to make easier choices amoungst all the movies available.
To prepare for usability testing, I created a lo-fi prototype that connected user flow to purchasing tickets.
These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:
Deciding what option to order in a simpler format
Those with vision impairments found some elements too small
Creating a user was a little extensive
Mockups 1
Based on the insights from the usability study, I made a change to improve the visibility of the cart when items populate the basket. This allowed users to better see and goto their cart easily.
Mockups 2
To make the user experience less overwhelming, the number of options were reduced on the home page and later added as options in the checkout portion.
High-fidelity prototype
The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the lo-fi prototype, including design changes made after the usability study.
The designs for screen variation include mobile and desktop. I optimized designs to fit specific user needs of each device and screen size.
Style Guide
Dark colours to create a mood movie patrons are familiar with and a complimentary palette came from wanting to express to users the tone of the theatre going experience. AODA compliance with high contrast, labels for interactive elements and an initial focus on the home screen with recommendations to help defind primary tasks for user actions.
Takeaways
Our target users shared that the design was intuitive to navigate through, more engaging with the images, and demonstrated a clear visual hierarchy.
I learned that even a small design change can have a huge impact on the user experience. The most important takeaway for me is to always focus on the real needs of the user when coming up with design ideas and solutions.
Next Step 01
Conduct follow-up usability testing of the new website
Next Step 02
Identify any additional areas of need and ideate on new features
A side business for a woman who has a full-time job in finance but has a passion for baking. Her confections consisted, mostly, of cookies for ceremonial events such as baptisms, baby showers, as well as gift baskets.
The Mission
Create something high-end but not lose character.
As this logo is for a small side business, it didn’t have to give that impression. The main objective was that, while not being full-time business, to still show professionalism and confidence to external audiences.
Branding
Recognizing the Maria behind Dolce Maria.
As someone meets and talks to Maria, they should recognize her in the logo as well. While mixing coffee steam and her trademark hair and smile, I incorporated the whimsical with the professional.
The final result of this project accomplished exactly what the client was looking for. It made her side business more legitamate, taken more seriously and still has ample opportunity to grow the brand. Additionally there were other features provided, such as an interactive order list which she could email and have sent back. An internal interactive price list where she can adjust pricing and send to clients as well.
In the Wild
Mockup designs to visually represent how the logo and brand would fit into real-world pieces.
Husky were in the midst of a war on plastics. Being in the plastic injection molding industry, they were trying to find ways of convincing the public that plastic is the safest and most sustainable material compared to aluminum, cartons and glass. Whilst doing that, they also were trying to gain marketshare in the beer space with the objective of converting brewers and bottlers from glass bottles to PET.
Process:
Husky, being a premium brand in the plastic industry, prides itself and focuses a lot of its efforts on emphasizing their technologies, engineering and innovation in their marketing communication.
When trying to reach craft brewers and large players in the beer space, we set out to switch the marketing focus to simply emphasize the the features and benefits of puting beer in PET bottles.
In doing this, the goal was to educate the public that the war on plastic was misunderstood as well as to offer insight and intrigue to brewers and to initiate conversation in switching from glass and cans to PET.
Solution:
Creating beer bottle mock-ups with labels that emphasize the different features and benefits of putting beer in PET.
Introducing the idea in various bottle shapes as well as in different environments to give a better understanding of our message while remaining visually appealing and capturing interest.
Impact:
My role in this project was strictly design. It was my duty to keep the visuals of this project interesting and was given a significant amount of creative freedom.
I was applauded for the idea of creating mock-ups, producing a landing page, PPT slides, print collateral and emails that ventured away from the usual Husky brand while still keeping within the guidelines.
The copy and tone for this project was Natasha Saladino and she managed to champion these ideas and my vision to the Husky stakeholders and sales staff to further communicate this campaign in the field.
I worked with Borgo during their biggest brand transformation in the company’s history. More than a face-lift, Borgo wanted to redefine their brand image and make a fundamental shift in its brand visuals and voice.
Despite 30 years of heritage, Borgo wasn’t creating enough buzz for their younger customers, dealers and designers. For long-term change, Borgo’s new vision needed to be properly implemented across the whole brand and communicated in the right way.
Process:
As a manufacturer of office furniture and fixed seating, Borgo was a seating and upholstery-first company. After working with the brand from Italy to Canada, I supported them with the shift from product-focused to a youthful, design-first approach.
Below is an example of where I combined the satire of IKEA’s illustration and applied it to an existing Borgo product in an unorthodox way while celebrating the Super Bowl. Playing up the humour with simple visuals and altering Borgo’s usual tone, I still managed to prompt visits to the Mya Lounge Chair web page and grow awareness across all social platforms as a direct result.
Solution:
Creating an identity flexible enough to work for both external and internal assets including print and digital;, invoices, product brochures, social media, trade shows and showroom environments.
Introducing a vibrant colour palette to get Borgo noticed and loved. And changing the visual codes of everything. We also visited the showroom floors and implemented bolder fabrics on the chairs to display and exhibit in at trade shows. I also supported the change to the brand voice on social media, website and advertising copy which allowed for anchoring everything in an uncomplicated aesthetic that appeals to their youth demographic yet understood amongst legacy clients.
Impact:
While I can say I played a major role in this project, which consisted of a team of two, I have to give credit to the owner’s son Lucas Spassiani, as he was the lead ambassador of this rebrand which made directing this project a joy.
A significant increase in web traffic and trade show presence, Borgo transformed their showroom and overall look to reflect the design thinking implemented in their rebrand.
Creating a sandwich delivery app to help customers pre-order, pickup or have delivered any sandwich order to skip lines and streamline payment. Overall, to expedite the order and payment process for customers on the go.
CHALLENGES
Increase customer loyalty
Create an easy user flow for pre-ordering food
Provide secure and seamless payment process
Kickoff
Creating a faster way for patrons to order food and skip the lines for convenience.
Increase customer loyalty and provide fast, secure method for users to pre-order food for pickup or delivery.
What is the product and who is it for?
What do our primary users need most?
What is the primary device according to users?
What challenges could we face moving forward?
Who do we see as our biggest competitors?
What familiar pain points can we overcome and foresee?
Usability research was conducted to determine how easy and informative this app is for users.
Unmoderated research was conducted where participants were given tasks to perform remotely and details their findings, thoughts, and processes. We assumed some aspects would be difficult and some would be easy. We were pleased with our results amongst participants.
Affinity Map
Meet the Users
Persona 1: Joseph
“Sandwiches are the perfect meal for my busy time schedules.”
Name: Joseph Scoliari Age: 22 Education: University Student Hometown: Toronto Family: 1 brother, 2 parents Occupation: Grocery Store
Goals
– Pre-order availability
– Offers/discounts available
– Loyalty program
Frustrations
– Long wait times for orders
– No major incentives for loyal customers
Busy, on-the-go student whose time is divided between school work and part-time occupation. Prefers to eat while studying so that he can multi-task and saves time on cooking and washing dishes.
Goals
– Delivery options
– Icons or language translations
Frustrations
– Everything is always english
Usually likes to order food on Friday evenings for the family to save her from cooking and cleaning and can spend more time heading into the weekend.
Competitive Audit
In order to construct a concise and solid foundation for Sammy’s Sandwiches, I had to venture out and see what the prominent restaurant applications were already doing and what user goals they were not reaching. I evaluated several features deemed vital from user surveys and identified which ones Sammy’s Sandwiches could capitalize on to have a leg up over other applications.
I found that only two of the four main competitors offered user profiles. Even then, the user profile feature is incredibly limited and offers very little in terms of order convenience.
Others refuse to offer any sort of loyalty programs or incentives to customers.
Preparing the Journey
Before moving onto high fidelity wireframes and mocks, I wanted to get a feel for what the core of the app would look like when put in front of me. I also wanted to address how a user could expedite their order.
Digital Wireframe
After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created the initial designs Sammy’s Sandwiches app. These designs focused heavily on the user’s journey to convert previous or favourite orders quickly and have less touch points.
To prepare for usability testing, I created a lo-fi prototype that connected user flow creating a profile and re-ordering from an existing account.
These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:
Creating a new profile was frustrating. Wasn’t obvious how to create one
People with vision impairments found the icons too small to see and had to zoom in too often
App design was uneventful and tone was too robotic
Some tasks took too long to complete compared to other apps because the buttons to press were not in obvious places
Mockups 1
Based on the usability study I created a layout consisting of hiearchy by grouping previous orders together and then adding favourite items with CTAs to quickly repeat the order, all within their account screen.
Login and account creation became easier by adding an account button on the upper right corner of every screen. Icons and buttons were made larger and more prominent.
5 out of 5 total participants said they found this process easy and enjoyable.
“It really helps that I can easily find my previous or favourite orders and 1-click to start the order.”
— Participant 5
High-fidelity prototype
The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the lo-fi prototype, including design changes made after the usability study.
Rustic colours were created to portray authentic italian sandwiches. Sans-serif fonts were included to give a balance of modern design to an otherwise traditional palette.
Takeaways
The tone and design of the app are easy to follow and make the whole experience enjoyable.
Some tasks need to be more obvious for those users who aren’t as computer literate as others.
Next Step 01
I would further enhance the map section to show best route options after checkout when user is picking up an order
Next Step 02
I would need to add a cart button on the header bar for quick access to order
Next Step 03
I would like to add more menu items and choices for even more customer satisfaction
Thank you for reviewing the Sammy Sandwiches case study.
My First Aid is a Toronto based organization focused on teaching people the basics of common life saving techniques as well as offering certificate programs for users who wish to become certified.
CHALLENGES
Eliminate complex EMS tutorial
Design a cohesive interface for familar and unfamiliar users
Create a minimalistic UI while keeping tutorials as the focus
Provide a seamless & linear user flow between platforms
Kickoff
Only 35% of civilians say they know how to react in an emergency situation before EMS arrive on the scene. The strategy for My First Aid is to offer tutorials on what to do before an ambulance arrives which could possibly save a life.
Our goal was to design an app for users who want to learn basic life saving techniques but don’t have time to take a formal class. As well as offer certification courses to those wanting a hands-on lesson by trained professionals.
What is the product and who is it for?
What do our primary users need most?
What is the primary device according to users?
What challenges could we face moving forward?
Who do we see as our biggest competitors?
What resources should we review to familiarize ourselves?
Usability research was conducted to determine how easy and informative this app is for users.
Unmoderated research was conducted where participants were given tasks to perform remotely and details their findings, thoughts, and processes. We assumed some aspects would be difficult and some would be easy. We were pleased with our results amongst participants.
Affinity Map
Meet the Users
Persona 1: Lattice
“I think it’s important for everyone to know basic life saving techniques”
Name: Lattice Bouche Age: 24 Education: University Student Hometown: Toronto Family: 3 sisters, 2 parents Occupation: P/T server
Goals
– Be prepared for emergency situations
– Having the knowledge last for my whole life
– Have an app on my phone to reference
Frustrations
– Not easy to find anywhere to learn CPR
– All CPR courses conflict with schedule
University student looking to find a course which can teach her the basics of CPR to be well prepared incase of future emergencies but can’t find a course that accommodates her schedule.
Persona 2: Leslie
“Having kids makes me worry I won’t know what to do if tragedy strikes”
Name: Leslie Ching Age: 32 Education: U of T, MBA Hometown: Toronto Family: husband, 2 kids Occupation: Program Manager
Goals
– Finding a website where I can learn CPR
– Being able to transfer my knowledge and teach my family the basics of CPR
Frustrations
– Can’t easily find online courses
A mother of 2, looking to find an online course where she can learn CPR and possibly get certified online. Cannot do classes due to being the only parent home during in-class sessions. Wants to be able to share her findings via link and lessons.
Competitive Audit
We looked at several direct and indirect competitors and this provided direction on gaps and opportunities to address with the My First Aid App.
The majority of the competitors had similar weaknesses in layout, design and accessibility. However some proved to have strong content but limited options available. These are the opportunities we’ve noticed.
Online tutorials
Offer certificate courses online
Provide shareable and printable assets
Preparing the Journey
We constructed a user flow of what a basic start to finish journey looks like while seeking a tutorial and registering for a course. This helps us in understanding ways users can interact with the app, as well as allowing us to see navigation through user goals.
Digital Wireframe
After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created the initial designs for the My First Aid app. These designs focused on delivering personalized guidance to users to choose online tutorials.
To prepare for usability testing, I created a lo-fi prototype that connected user flow of viewing a tutorial as well as registering for a certification course.
The designs for screen variation include mobile, tablet, and desktop. I optimized designs to fit specific user needs of each device and screen size.
Style Guide
Combining vivid colors to create My First Aid’s signature palette came from wanting to express to users just how friendly learning emergency services can be. The negative space allows a calm and spacious feel to the app which welcomes the user to click freely. AODA compliance with high contrast, labels for interactive elements and an initial focu on the home screen with personalized recommendations to help defind primary tasks for user actions.
Takeaways
Users shared that the app made learning seem like something they can actually do and help save a life while waiting for ambulance to arrive. One quote said “I finally feel like I am prepared to handle a situation to administer CPR if someone is in trouble.”
Even though the problem I was trying to solve was a big one with a lot of responsibility, diligently going through each step of the design process and aligning with specific user needs helped me come up with solutions that were both feasible and useful.
Next Step 01
Conduct research on how successful the app is in reaching the goal to easily learn CPR
Next Step 02
Add more educational resources for users to learn about life saving techniques
Next Step 03
Provide incentives and rewards to users for successfully learning certificate courses
Thank you for reviewing the My First Aid case study.
A publishing company that specializes in creating Canada’s largest soccer magazine as well as other misc. marketing assets, such as direct-mail campaigns, trade show material and print related services.
The Mission
To compete and create a world soccer publication suitable for global consumption.
The main challenge, besides competing with other established magazines in the space, was to compete with online resources. It was impossible to report on stats and news so we developed more of a story based publication with a larger format and high quality images where readers can use as posters.
The Design
Kick off to a journey of art direction.
From a design standpoint, the focus was always layout, typography, photography and eyeflow. This was to compliment the stories, round-ups and interviews. The content kept people engaged, the design excited the user to turn the page.
View the Samples
The End Result
Canada’s premiere world soccer magazine.
With attention to detail, meeting and exceeding deadlines, focus on layout principles and strategic execution, Soccer360 was able to grow in subscriptions month after month as well as see their ad revenue grow along with it. The the expansion into apps and digital publications where rich media was introduced further strengthened the reputation of this publication reaching over 40,000 readers in its first year aquiring subscribers as far away as India and Hungary.
