Founded by a trio with an accomplished background in government security and top-secret FBI projects, they wanted to start a new mission: to Sh(ai)pe technology for small businesses using AI.
I was taken on as an intern to help with all branding and marketing related initiatives. In my time with them over the last 1.5 years, I’ve learned to develop a brand identity, strategize digital marketing plans, and to ultimately, help grow a new startup.
First steps: Who is Shaipe?
While I understood the premise of the start-up, I also needed to learn about how they wanted the brand to be communicated.
Who is our target audience?
The world of small business is big; what sector are we trying to target (location & business-type?
We need to communicate succinctly and efficiently.
What is our one-liner?
SHAIPE is a modern approach to “Technology as a Service” (TaaS). Our mission is to deliver competitive advantages to small businesses through customized technology solutions and integrations. We partner with small businesses that need technological expertise and develop strategies to save time and reduce cost.
We adapt and overcome.
After lengthy discussions about who Shaipe is, we finally moved on to exploring the different visual identities that would best communicate our brand.
Logo explorations
SHAIPE
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
SHAIPE
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
SHAIPE
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
SHAIPE
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
SHAIPE
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
SHAIPE
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
SH IPE
Simple. Secure. Tailored to You.
SHAIPE
SHAIPE
HOME PAGE
Balance between serif and sans-serif fonts; use a sans-serif font
heading uses serif; body uses san-serif (and it stays consistent with other parts of the website (apply to all pages)
minor: logo should be in corner
condense the different services into four panels
less scrolling and better use of empty space
be consistent with punctuation! period or no period?
Question: what does SHAIPE stand for?
What do we have here...
Admittedly, we had a not-terrible website to work with. However, the main problem, aside from the design inconsistencies, was that it didn’t communicate the brand. We wanted to be
Approachable
Knowledgeable
“Tech-y”
However, we realized that the original logo represented Shaipe the best. But, we needed to tweak it just a bit.
Then, we wanted to incorporate these components of our brand into the website.
Now what?
After making all the wireframes, lo-fi mockups, then hi-fi mockups for each of the pages (home, services, about, process, contact), we finally implemented the website designs to a website builder. But, in the nature of true design, there were a lot of iterations that were made throughout this process. However, in the end, we actually ended up changing the brand image to convey opulence, so the whole website and branding was redone. It be like that sometimes.
What I learned
I’ve taken constraints for granted. Starting off on a clean slate is hard because truly, the sky is your limit. There are so many aspects to think about in the beginning that go into branding.
Establishing common ground is crucial. When people have differing concepts and ideas about one thing, misunderstandings and conflict. Establishing common ground allows for shared understanding, fostering open communication, collaboration, and the ability to find mutually beneficial solutions.
Startups are ever-evolving at a foundational level, and it’s important to be able to adapt to those changes.
Future directions
I hope to be able to work with more clients through Shaipe and help them through their branding and online identity, since many are small mom-and-pop businesses.
I enjoyed the exposure that I got from working at a start-up; working in a cross-functional team has taught me information that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
I aim to ensure that in my future group/team projects, I also get to work with a diverse group of people.
Here are two more fleshed out wireframes for the contact page and the process page.
SHAIPE
Home
Services
About
Process
Interested in partnering?
Let us conquer your technology challenges - so you can focus on your business.
[social media hp]
Contact us!
Let’s get down to business.
Contact
Working with us is a three-step process.
Schedule a consultation with us to discuss your challenges and goals. We will apply our expertise to develop a custom plan.
You Talk, We Listen
We walk you through our strategy and start taking action inside your business.
We Bring the Plan and Resources to You
Through our approach we give you back time, resources, and security.
Results
1
2
3
component #2
1440 x 1024
BUSINESS TOOLKIT PAGE WITH POP-UP
VALUE CALCULATOR
PROCESS PAGE
01 Typography
02 Colors
Font(s)
Hierarchy
Poppins
Aa
Aa
Aa
Aa
Aa
Regular
Aa
Regular
Medium
Semibold
Bold
Heavy
Vast Shadow
Style
Size
Weight
Usage
H1
Regular
Use as headings
70-90px
H1
H2
Semibold
Use as subheadings
50px
Body
Regular
Use as body
40px
Subtext
Regular
Use as subtext
20px
Brand
Grayscale
#9260DD
#E065B2
#FAE561
#54B8F3
#70F1D5
#F4ECED
Gradient contrast
Gradient linear
#F8F8F8
#FFFFFF
#E5E5E5
#F3F3F3
#000000
#ACACAC
#6F6F6F
Aa
Regular
Shaipe
ai
Shaipe
ai
Shaipe Agency
A branding project.
UX Design
Prototyping
User testing
User testing
Made with a cat by my side ⋆˚✿˖₍^. ̫.^₎ @ 2024