Envoy, electric cars as an amenity
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Envoy is an inclusive electric car-sharing amenity that provides short-term cars where you live, work and stay. It allows any member of that community - office workers, neighbors, and such - to access electric car mobility with their general access cards. The cars are designated for communal use and available for short or long durations. Partnering with real estate (apartments, workplaces, hotels) and local government, the ambitious startup is a turnkey alternative to car ownership, reducing congestion in cities so they're sustainable and affordable. Envoy is poised to lead the way to the next mobility revolution. Envoy's brand system is made to be as vibrant and dynamic as the company, its founders and target audience. When Envoy came to us in 2017, stats from Statisa and USPIRG reported there were 17 billion-dollar companies with 60,000 employees, $15 billion in funding, and 20 million active users in the sharing or collaborative economy. The car sharing sector was picking up speed at an astronomical pace and we needed to brand a standout. The current solutions (e.g. Zipcar, Uber) have major disadvantages. The timely service varies and often neglects places away from city-center; car inventory is not designated for specific users or close enough to these customers. Such immediacy of use and proximity to your needs is an essential and critical differentiation. Imagine waiting 15 min for Uber or walking 3 blocks with your groceries from a city-mandated parking spot. Or conversely, imagine looking for a parking spot to park your short-term rental. Making the cars as integral as an elevator, was the goal of Envoy - you simply walk down to the building's parking lot and pick a car parked in one of Envoy’s designated spots. Envoy service is essentially 'built' into buildings. Designing the service, strategy, brand and experience from this backdrop, we were challenged to create a frictionless electric car sharing service that's as simple as using the elevator in your apartment building. Our system strategy matches a seamless digital experience with dynamic branding to create the ultimate amenity for urban communities. Visibility is tied to availability and usability as residents and other potential users become aware of the innovative service and use it correctly. The company's skewed logo builds off the symbol of the parking space – the point of departure and the destination. By mixing bold color, dynamic motion and reformist 'cool', it evokes a premium feel that's closer to a fashion brand than a car service. The mark reflects Envoy's mission of transforming movement while also building it out into a system that can populate spaces across the urban environment. We expanded the system across vehicles, parking spaces, chargers, online properties and even Snapchat filters. Our execution for Envoy's cars comes in two flavors: Razzle Dazzle show-stopping graphic wrap and the more subdued stealth vehicle wrap for everyday autos. The resulting combination of graphical implementations gives Envoy a stake to place in the ground that dresses up for media grabbing attention and down for jaunts around town.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
Getting out of 'stealth' mode a startup must fight for its commercial success by attracting customers, investors and public interest. Our work provided Envoy with these essentials and promoted a keen interest by private real-estate companies and local government, including $1.5M in grants from California Energy Commission. Envoy is now expanding from its initial LA location to Sacramento and San Francisco. Its rate of growth is rapid and its presence in the industry is felt well beyond its locale.
Who worked on the project?
Gadi Amit, President & Principal Designer, NewDealDesign; Jon Patterson, Brand Design Manager, NewDealDesign; Jen Phannguyen, Experience Design Manager, NewDealDesign; Ben Wong, Experience Design Lead, NewDealDesign; Timmy Chau, Experience Design Lead, NewDealDesign; Jacob Bang, Designer, NewDealDesign.
View the project video: https://vimeo.com/270208024/223b4a0521
Esprit International School Brand Identity
Company Test Monki
Introduction Date December 1, 2017
Project Website
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Esprit International school is a Montessori school in The Woodlands, TX that opened their doors in 1999. After almost 10 years, they decided to build a new campus in the fall of 2018. Their original brand identity had been quickly thrown together, was status quo, and didn’t correctly represent the school. They felt that this was the perfect time to strategically rebrand the school. Test Monki was able to help them find out who there were, why they were different from the other private schools in the area, and how to bring their new look & feel to life. The phrase “independence with responsibility” kept popping up in all of our discussions. The one huge difference between Esprit and other schools (private and public) in the area was that Esprit treated their students like real people and not just a number. They really care about a student’s dreams and aspirations—not just passing a state mandated test or getting more funding for a better gym. That’s when the tagline was developed. “You be you. We’ll help you get there.” As we explored the idea of something new to represent the Esprit brand, one logo simply could not authentically represent the identity of the school, which is derived by the diverse individualities of their students. For that reason, we picked a system of logos, spanning from playful to collegiate, that can be used interchangeably. At Esprit, we felt the “colorfulness” of the school comes through in the vibrancy of their student body. A black and white color palette allows the school brand to be the foundation while their students bring life to the creative. And, no school in the area uses black and white. The typical school photography is always students sitting in classrooms, doing their work. We felt that’s overdone and boring. Since the school puts so much emphasis on the individuality of the students, we used actual students in all their photography but with a twist. The students wore only black and white clothing to represent the schools new colors. Each photo had hand illustrations interacting with the student that showcased the student’s aspirations or hobby. During Test Monki’s discovery phase, we determined that the old school mascot (an Eagle) didn’t reflect the school. The decision was made to change the school mascot to an animal with symbolism that better reflects their teaching ideology and student body—a wolf. Wolves have the freedom to thrive independently while always having the support and strength of the pack when needed. Known for their sharp intelligence, complex and evolved communication skills, and deep connection with instincts, wolves are highly committed to family and community. Just like their students.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
When the new brand launched, Esprit didn’t market any different than they did with the old brand. With the old brand, their marketing efforts got them about 8 school tours a year. In the first month of the new brand launch, the school received 63 inquires and 25 tours. IN ONE MONTH.
Who worked on the project?
Suzy Simmons-Chief Creative Officer and Creative Director, Brad Petak-Chief Engagement Officer, Sofi Cruz-designer, Sarah Wright-designer, Gabby Nguyen-Design Director
View the project video:
E*TRADE
Why is this project worthy of an award?
E*Trade was scheduled to open its first branch on 42nd Street in New York City, a flagship moment for the company. Our task was to create two engaging experiences that fit within the architecture of the branch. The first experience was a tablet device bar that presents the different online products from E*Trade. The second, was a large data visualization installation on a digital screen, illustrating current trends in the financial market. These experiences encouraged investing conversations and focused on E*Trade’s products, tools, services, and educational events. Financial markets can be overwhelming — a sea of endless data and noise. It can seem virtually impossible to keep it all in-check, even for the most sophisticated investor. Our solution was to create a tangible experience that makes it possible to see and hear the market. It depicts real-time market data through elegant 3D visualizations and generative music, and it is designed to live anywhere — from installations to iPads.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The visualizer created a beautifully animated WebGL experience, illustrating 33 stock lines. The chaotic nebula of particles, represents a data pull from one of the stocks. They transform into individual stock lines revealed in a macro view showing the data from the past five days. Subsequently, the camera moves to a micro view that shows the largest change percentage over the course of the final five days. The device bar is used as the branch’s upfront communication for the visitors who are waiting in the reception area. The user experience and framework of the device bar is also structured to complement the visualizer on the wall. When interacting with the device bar, users are presented with E*Trade’s three pillars: Mobile, Desktop, and Pro. Each of these pillars is created to communicate E*Trade’s online offering in a simple and playful way.
Who worked on the project?
Executive Creative Director(s): Pablo Vio, Adrian Belina Creative Director/Assistant Creative Director(s): Dirk van Ginkel, Hack Day Head of Production: Michael Dobell Executive Producer: Pablo Vio Producer: Milica Stefancic Production Coordinator: Erin Ray Lead Creative Team: Dirk van Ginkel, Mikko Haapoja, Matt DesLauriers, Nixson Sysanga Designer(s): Serene Wong, Nixson Sysanga Head of Development & UX: Adam Slayer Technical Director: Mikko Haapoja Developer(s): Mikko Haapoja, Matt DesLauriers, Stephan Tanguay Animation: Stephan Tanguay, Matt Di Lallo 3D Production: Matt Di Lallo Editing: Matt Di Lallo Sound Design: Keith Ruggiero at Sounds Red Copywriter: Alina Kulesh
View the project video: https://vimeo.com/218689349
Facebook Global Partner Centers
Company HUSH
Introduction Date March 5, 2018
Project Website https://heyhush.com/work/facebook-global-partner-center-experience/
Why is this project worthy of an award?
At Facebook, it’s important for leaders to connect with partners and engage in a deep dialogue about the company’s mission, products and vision for the future. While there are many ways to do this, Facebook believes in experiential design and in-person storytelling. As a result, they wanted to roll out a refreshed design vision for their Global Partner Centers in key locations around the world. Inside, guests partake in unique experiences, tailored to their needs, and are inspired around the company’s vision. To begin, we worked intimately with Facebook’s business marketing and technology teams to outline a core strategic vision, over-arching guest narrative, and key storytelling points. Our desire was to bring these stories to life with interesting creative technologies and guest interactions never before seen, and available nowhere else. We foreground the partner and put them on a narrative journey moving from their individual place in the world, to a global, interconnected chronicle. We then leveraged this strategic framework and applied it to three specific architectural spaces that would undergo ground-up construction (or complete renovations) to satisfy the vision of the experience. In an extremely collaborative fashion, we programmed, designed and delivered both the physical and digital experiences within the Partner Centers, first at Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters, then London and Singapore, tailoring all the storytelling components, interactivity, content, data points, and even materiality of the space to the local market. This made each experience unique, geo-relevant but designed with a consistent voice. In the end, the Partner Center is transformed into an interactive space defined by 12 core installations highlighting the company mission, culture and Facebook’s family of apps and services. We worked hard to combine analog and digital experiences, both active and passive, to keep the experience dynamic. Each leverage consistent but surprising UI paradigms and creative technologies, data visualization and sound/visual feedback as well as strong, repeated architectural forms to give gravitas and framing to critical brand ideas. Underneath it all, a global CMS (Content Management System) allows the team to customize and tailor content for unique partner storytelling across the globe. This allows Facebook to foreground important content, conversations and data relevant to the audience at hand. Further, a suite of analysis tools tracks every interaction, every view and behavior across all interactive experiences at all locations globally. This provides the Partner Center leadership with important design feedback around their KPIs to assess experiential success, tailor future design iterations and adjust stories to be most relevant. We sought to create a feeling of Facebook bringing the world, and its communities, closer together. Hundreds of partners, employees and guests visit the Partner Centers every day. The experience helps Facebook answer some important questions and explore critical ideas: • What happens when people can share, watch, create, connect and discover in ways that are both familiar and new? • What happens when the smallest business can go global, and the biggest brand can become more personal? • What happens when billions of people and millions of businesses meet?
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
“The Fountain” Brings the Facebook mission to life by connecting individuals to communities using the Facebook Reactions and other emojis in a fun and interactive way. Partners start their journey by contributing something that represents them - how they feel, their favorite sport or the country they’re from. With a quick flick of the wrist, they send a digital Reaction to the digital columns in front of them and watch as their sentiment becomes part of the larger community. “The Globe” Shows our communities around the world and demonstrates how Facebook's global insights can help businesses grow. Facebook’s mission is to bring us all together as a global community. This is a huge project, bigger than any one organization or company, but there are ways Facebook actively contributes. Guests simply touch anywhere to activate the experience visually and sonically. The more touches, the faster the reveal of a refined, graphic world map appears. The multi-touch design encourages participation from the group allowing each person to be part of the overall experience, while also investigating things of interest to them specifically. Architecturally, the space is custom designed to demonstrate globality, uses specific materials per location, and provides an open look into the structure. The shape represents the rotational force of the Earth and its slats represent Facebook’s values of transparency and openness. Functionally, it comfortably fits 8-10 people, and has 5.1 sound with a custom musical/sonic score related to the interface interactions and animations. “The Spark” Visualizes and celebrates the social good happening on Facebook’s platform. When people connect, powerful things happen. A story can create resonance and manifest positive world-changing impact. Guests simply select a story on the multi-touch interface and see its impact in words and numbers. From there, they flick the story up and overhead and the data and metrics of the story unfolding on Facebook’s platform ignite the lighting display for an artistic interpretation of the data. The radial light display illustrates how a central event can spark an outpouring of support and love from the community that goes global. “Facebook To Go” Facebook has an amazing visual culture centered around screen printed posters with statements about their vision, values and beliefs. Guests can design their own posters on a series of multi-touch screens with simple swipes that integrate layers of visual and typographic content. Easy to create, easy to share, easy to customize and take home. “Spotlight” Encourages engagement with Facebook’s visual platforms and products (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, photo, video and Stories) and creativity tools to capture and share the Partner Center experience. The layered visual design means no spot is a bad spot for a photo and three pre-programmed, animated light movement options encourages video capture. “Instagram” Guests are immersed in Instagram as a platform where people come to be inspired and to connect with other people and business who have the same passion of shared interests.
Who worked on the project?
Face-to-Face Marketing Director, Julie Hogan Executive Content Marketing Lead, Beatrice Liang Builds and Experiential Marketing Manager, Max Gallo AV Design Engineer, Dan Gerson Art Director, Chris Wojcicki Global Workplace Design Director, Terry Raby Global Standards Manager, Shirley Lam Interiors and Design Manager, Elizabeth Leonard Facilities Project Manager, Georgina Hansford Content Production Manager, Kara Lloyd Copy Writer, John Cantwell HUSH (Design Agency) Creative Partner, David Schwarz Technical Partner, Erik Karasyk Executive Producer, Kristen Koeller Senior Producer, Eloise Murphy Production Coordinator, Nicki Ishmael Communications Producer, Kari Fry Design Director, David Lehman Creative Director, Jasmin Jodry Technical Director - Software, Justin Martin Creative Technologist, Blake Rutledge Creative Technologist, Beau Burrows Creative Technologist, Shawn Lipowski Creative Technologist, Paul Houx Creative Technologist, Adria Navarro Creative Technologist, Christopher Kim Creative Technologist, Josh Peterson Technical Director - Hardware, David Crumley Systems Designer & Sound Design, Adam Kruckenberg Designer, Brice McGowen Designer, Ryan Rowlett Senior Designer, Devan Harlan Designer, Andrew Galloway
View the project video: https://wdrv.it/d04cd3c69 Password: FacebookFastco
Factivism
Company ProPublica, Studio Usher, and Sappi North America
Introduction Date November 13, 2017
Project Website https://donate.propublica.org/give/146516/#!/donation/checkout
Why is this project worthy of an award?
In the midst of the war on the media, investigative newsroom ProPublica went old school. In 2017, they partnered with Naomi Usher, creative director at Studio Usher, to create a direct mail donation campaign that worked. Made possible by an Ideas that Matter grant from Sappi North America, ProPublica’s Factivism campaign helped raise over $500,000. Factivism addressed concerns about fake news and alternative facts head-on in 2017 – imploring recipients of the stunning printed pieces to help keep investigative journalism alive and well. ProPublica received an uptick of 30,000 donors in 2017 and wanted to maintain the momentum. The organization needed to find a way to encourage these donors to continue to give to their efforts in 2018, so they adopted a multi-channel fundraising approach. They decided to use a high quality direct mail appeal to two important groups of new donors, in conjunction with email and social media appeals where possible. High-quality coated printing papers and eye-catching design enable direct mail to make an emotional impact in a way other marketing simply can’t replicate. The results speak for themselves. The fundraising team at ProPublica was pleased with the results and have committed to running the campaign with Studio Usher again in 2018. This print campaign was made possible through Sappi North America’s grant program, Ideas that Matter. Now in its 19th year, the program has granted $13 million to nonprofits and organizations using design for social good. Sappi provided a grant to Studio Usher to go toward the design and execution of this print campaign. The assets were printed on Sappi’s McCoy® paper to ensure it stood out even more thanks to its color reproduction, touch and quality.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom, recognized the need to reach new and longtime donors with print. Despite the everchanging media landscape, direct mail remains a powerful driver of conversions. When it comes to standing out, and giving a piece some kitchen counter staying power, the quality of design and paper matters. In other words, the look and feel of marketing materials are paramount. Factivism’s print campaign took a two-tiered approach, sending direct mail pieces to separate donor groups. The first group consisted of 886 past donors for whom ProPublica did not have an active email address. Within the first two months, this group returned 341 donations for a total of $66,746. Without direct mail, this group would not have been given the opportunity to contribute anything at all. Twenty-three percent of these donors increased their gift, inspired to give more than they had previously by the powerful message and materials. The donations from this group are still coming in today. The second group consisted of 658 mid-level donors with whom ProPublica was in regular contact. ProPublica saw a dramatic increase in the number of donors giving between $1,000 and $10,000 in late 2016 and early 2017. Most of these donors were new to ProPublica, giving online, by check or through donor advised funds. ProPublica wanted to use a high quality direct mail program to determine if donors who made these more significant gifts would respond to a quality mailing. A digital email campaign and two follow-up mailings were developed as part of the Factivism appeal. These mailings resulted in 272 donations for $476,466 in the first two months. Five of these donors hadn’t been compelled to donate to ProPublica since 2016. Their contributions alone totaled $12,000. Gifts from this group are still coming in today. In total, the two mailings reached 1,544 people and helped raise about $500,000. The takeaways are clear: actionable, well-designed and high-quality direct mail makes an impact. It evokes emotion that sparks action that then inspires change for social good.
Who worked on the project?
ProPublica, Studio Usher, and Sappi North America
View the project video:
