Nowbase
Nowbase is a creative tech company that develops software solutions for the creator economy. Founded in 2020, the company aspired to create a more transparent and versatile way for creators to showcase their holistic online presence and monetize it.
Given our previous engagements with the company CEO, Nick Urbom, Zero Folks had the privilege to partner with Nowbase at its inception. This meant crafting an entire brand identity from the ground up and every piece of collateral that comes with it. Not only was this one of our biggest projects to date, but also one of the most challenging and rewarding ones.
Goals
On the surface, the goals for the client were not unlike other holistic brand projects:
- Design and iterate on a strong visual identity for Nowbase and its suite of products
- Build a series of landing pages for A/B testing the various iterations of the brand identity and messaging
- Produce functional prototypes and product specification sheets for the user interface and experience of their first product: Bamboo
- Create any and all brand collateral necessary for business operations and marketing
Although the big picture was similar to many other projects, the new status quo of remote work and a disrupted consumer marketplace is what truly set this initiative apart from all others. We were confident in our ability to deliver, but these circumstances definitely changed how we iterated on creative.
Considerations
The Coronavirus pandemic threw much of the modern world businesses into a state of disarray. Zero Folks was no exception. Fortunately for us, most of our work could still be conducted digitally on the web. Adapting to our team being spread across multiple timezones and struggling with the overall uncertainty of the times is what really made this a major challenge.
Additionally, while we had worked with multiple startups in the past, tech startups was new territory for us. This meant we quickly had to learn about the industry stakeholders, philosophies and idiosyncrasies that affect our way of working. While most conventional companies have a defined product, tech startups are continuously testing and evolving their ideas until they reach product market fit. As a result, our branding had to remain flexible enough to be reworked for various demographics and value propositions.
Strategy
In terms of methodology, our approach to this project was intuitive rather than surgically precise:
- Research and learn about the tech industry, from its stakeholders to its norms and philosophies
- Assess the internal values and purpose of Nowbase as a company, and let it guide the first version of the visual identity
- Create a color palette and logo
- Extrapolate based on client needs for MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
Given the uncertainty of tech startups and product direction, we had to be open to both scope creep and scope adjustments as we began delivering assets. Despite this leading to some scheduling complexity for the team, this was actually a thrilling way of collaborating with the client. Most ideas were considered with care, and the best idea always prevailed.
Throughout our engagement with Nowbase, we created 3 evolutions of the brand: The MVP identity, the Product identity and the Bamboo identity. Each one embraced a unique aesthetic and, by pure coincidence, also visually represented the chapters of the company: drafting, presenting and iterating the concept.
The current Nowbase brandmark was designed in 2021 and used the silhouette of two chain links that shapes the letter "N" inside its counter. The chain links presents the collaborative and digital nature of modern creators while the N shows how Nowbase is at the core of this process.
Delivery
Zero Folks produced about 1000+ assets for Nowbase and Bamboo, and we remain active partners to this day. Some of the highlights of our deliverables include:
- 7 unique websites for Nowbase and Bamboo
- 3 landing pages for marketing campaigns
- 2 style guides
- 10 videos such as trailers, explainers and tutorials
- 3 user interface design systems for their platform
- 20 templates for pitch decks and presentations
- 5 sets of merchandise (hats, shirts and tumblers)
