CASE STUDY:
01
Founder's CPA approached me for a visual and illustration branding update. This update resulted in a set of nine icons and 2 illustrations for use on the Founder's CPA homepage.
02
Founder's CPA is an accounting firm that offers accounting, tax, and outsourced CFO services for startups and small businesses.
03
Icon Set
Illustration Branding System
Previous to my contract, Founder's CPA had not spent significant time investing in further development of the visual branding of their product. However, as the company continues to expand, they found they needed to update and refine their current visual approach for clearer visual communication and continuity.
At the outset, Founder's CPA did not have a brand or style guide. In its place, my main point of contact, Jill, shared a short document containing the basics: brand colors and fonts. Along with this, Jill supplied a packet of icons and illustrations that she and stakeholders had aligned on as inspiration for a potential way forward.
Based on these artifacts, I put together three initial mood boards, which explored the variations present in the materials provided to me.
Mood board 1: With a laser focus on the brand colors, the illustration and icon styling here is pared back to contour lines with the aim of reflecting professionalism and simplicity.
Mood board 2: This best reflected the inspirational material I received. The color palette is complimentary versus monotone, requiring the addition of another shade to the brand palette.
Mood board 3: An abstract geometric take on the iconography and illustrations, this mood board was the most divergent from Founder's CPA's current brand styling.
In receiving feedback from the client, it was clear that I hit the target closest with Mood Board 2 in regards to the illustration style and Mood Board 1 in regards to the icon style. I then drafted up initial sketches of the icons and illustrations based on this feedback.
I always prefer to start sketching on paper with markers. This format forces me to move quickly and with purpose. Nothing is precious at this stage and using markers makes it impossible to nitpick over the details. I drew inspiration through a combination of word association activities and browsing through Dribbble and Bēhance. Below, I explore different visual treatments for the following nine terms: account, taxes, outsourced CFO, people, process, platform, tech startups, blockchain/cryptocurrency, restaurants.
Accounting
Taxes
Outsourced CFO
People
Process
Platform
Tech Startups
Blockchain/Cryptocurrency
Restaurants
After receiving feedback on the rough sketches, I iterated, paring down my ideas for a consistent visual language across the final set of nine icons.
Accounting
Taxes
Outsourced CFO
People
Process
Platform
Tech Startups
Blockchain/Cryptocurrency
Restaurants
Founder's CPA wanted two illustrations for their initial scope of work. A small one to pair with a slider of customer testimonials and a larger hero image that would pair with a CTA for a free consultation.
Initial sketch for the Testimonials illustration
Initial sketch for the hero image illustration
Next iteration of the hero image illustration
Final design for Testimonials illustration
Final hero image illustration
I delivered this work to my client, along with guidelines for future implementation of the illustration branding system, to a strong positive reception.
I've always enjoyed working with smaller companies on branding systems, as they can often afford space for more creative approaches to the visual branding of a product. This is how I initially cut my chops as a designer fresh out of undergrad, and the feeling remains true today. Currently, my illustrations and icons have been implemented on the Founder's CPA website.
If you would like to hear more about my work with Founder's CPA, please contact me at kara.l.saje@gmail.com
