FictionDesign

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a founder and CXO of a Fintech start-up that targets SME corporates in Germany. We are currently in stealth mode and will enter the market in Q1 2023.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FictionDesign, and what were your goals?

FictionDesign created the visual and verbal brand identity to support fundraising, website and entry into the Germany market.

SOLUTION

How did you select FictionDesign?

Our network recommended several brand and design agencies that had experience in building brands for start-ups. We had a beauty contest with three short-listed agencies. After analyzing, and discussing their experience, comparable projects, their individual offer and the personal fit, we decided to go with FictionDesign.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

We went thru a structured process over 2 months to define and build the brand. This was done via several online workshops with the broader team and weekly / daily alignments in a smaller group. The team defined three different visual identities (full concepts), we then selected the preferred option and it was fine-tuned and assets (CI Guide, branding, website) finalised. In parallel, the verbal identity (messaging) and pitch deck for fundraising was also completed.

How many people from the FictionDesign team worked with you, and what were their positions?

My main PoC was Jordan (Partner, Brand Strategist). We also actively engaged with Atanas (Partner) and Sofia (Art Director) throughout the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The end results was a fresh and modern visual and verbal design (brand) for us to build on as we enter the German market. The design excited the management, employees and wowed our investors.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

FictionDesign was super responsive and flexible which made it easy for us to run the project while we focus on building the company (early stage). The whole project was done purely virtual. As they are a distributed team and have all the tools needed to exercise a design / branding project on a remote basis.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The team's highly-structured approach, constant communication, and the quality of the deliverables are impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We faced the unfortunate effect of CoVID. This sometimes made it difficult to stick to the timelines. However, the team overcame this is open and transparent communication.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I lead Marketing & Communications at the early-stage startup investor Capnamic Ventures.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FictionDesign, and what were your goals?

After being almost a decade in the market, Capnamic decided to rebrand in order to have a visual identity which truly reflects the growth, the chance and the change the company has experience since its first launch. We were aiming to build a visual brand which shows our uniqueness and reflects our position in the market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We spoke to several brand and design agencies which had experience in building outstanding brands for venture capital firms and/or startups. After analyzing and discussing their experience, comparable projects, their individual offer and the personal fit, we decided to go for FictionDesign.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Strategy & Definition Brand Definition document (.pdf), including:

— Research findings and key insights

— Brand story framework

— Short form narrative

— Long form narrative

— Brand personality

— Brand behaviours

— 2 Key stakeholders journey mapping

— Competitor audit: 5 Benchmark brands

— Brand opportunities:

Recommendations Create Creative route presentation that allows the visualization of the identity (pdf), including:

— Symbol and brandmark

— Image style examples (5-10)

— Colour palette

— Typographic hierarchy: headlines, body copy and subheads for web and print

— Example applications

— Website look and feel

— Social media covers

— Merchandise

— Newsletter template

— PPT slide example (x3 content slides)

Key messaging document (pdf), including:

— Tagline

— Key messaging (x5)

Activate Production-ready master assets, including:

— Brandmark (x1, delivered as: .ai, .psd and .png)

— Brand principles document (x10-20 pages, .pdf) Website architecture

— Navigation and site framework

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

1) Partner & Designer

2) Partner, Strategy & Operations

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We received outstanding feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including our most important stakeholder groups of founders and investors (LPs). All of our Marketing channels such as Website, Social Media, Newsletter received a massive boost in usage and engagement through the launch of the rebranding.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

From a detailed project plan in the beginning, to setting up a Trello board for project management, regular check-ins as well as ad-hoc support, the FictionDesign team was very strong in communicating with us throughout the whole process.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

- Can-Do attitude

- Strong opinion yet open and strong in reacting to client feedback

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

LimeChain is a Blockchain & DLT Solutions company that helps businesses in their digital transformation efforts using blockchain technology. I'm the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FictionDesign?

We hire FictionDesign to create the company identity of LimeChain

What were your goals for this project?

Creation of professional looking corporate identity that is in line with the industry specifics used for visual communication, colour schemes, shapes used.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Referral from a partner. We have considered multiple vendors but Fiction shine from the rest with a proven track record and a great portfolio.

Describe the project in detail.

Creation of corporate identity including:

• Logo
• Colour scheme
• Brand patterns
• Business card designs
• Company merchandise designs
• Digital assets

What was the team composition?

The team was consist of 2 people - both founders and managers in the studio. Both designers have both graphic and web skills which contributed greatly to the overall success of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The end results were clean, minimalistic designs that made LimeChain stand out from the crowd. All stakeholders were impressed with the end result.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything went seamless. The communication was great and expectations were managed correctly. On top, the team was quite flexible with our hectic schedule.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their professionalism, empathy, human touch, and perfectionism to every detail of the process set them apart.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None I can think of on top of my head.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as a Marketing Manager for a business solutions company. Our mission is to make business expenses effortless so everyone can focus on what matters most to them. We combine human centered design, state of the art technology and our appetite to tackle complex problems in order to free people from repetitive manual work.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FictionDesign?

Come up with different concepts and then implement a complete rebranding including brand guidelines and a new web design.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal for the rebranding was to position our company as the number one solution for the mid market. Fiction design came up with a perfect concept for it.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Fiction design was recommended to us by a different customer - wo was super happy with their work. As we checked out different projects of fiction design, it was clear to us that we want to work with them!

Describe the project in detail.

Once we agreed the scope and details of the project we had different Skype sessions where we brainstormed about the ideal outcome. Fiction design was able to really understand our vision and come up with amazing concepts that exactly matched our expectations. During the implementation process, they even came to our office in Berlin to discuss some matters face to face.

What was the team composition?

We mainly worked together with Atanas, the partner of Fiction design and Sofia a Branding and Design manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The outcome of the project exceeded our expectations and we're looking forward to finally go live with the new branding. Especially the creative concepts that Fiction came up with were a perfect match for our brand.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We used trello as project management tool which worked totally fine. Important matters were discussed via Google Hangout or in person. Fiction design was super responsive and flexible which made it easy for us to run the project while focusing on our business matters.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The amazing illustrations that Sofia came up with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing :)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the head of development at a regional branch of a real estate group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FictionDesign?

We hired FictionDesign to create the brand for a new development project in our region.

What were your goals for this project?

We hoped that FictionDesign would give our project a unique and distinctive identity, one that sets us apart from competitor developments.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

FictionDesign came recommended by another designer as a strong brand and development studio.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our engagement began with an introductory meeting and a discussion of our expected results. FictionDesign used this time to ask all of their questions and workshop several details of the project, which became the basis of a creative brief. Their team later provided three different brand designs for our consideration. We selected one and then turned our focus to developing it. FictionDesign further expanded the chosen design and created a brand book to include standardized texts, colors, fonts, logos, and the like.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one lead designer, one junior designer, and one copywriter.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our company was very receptive of the final brand. We had not engaged vendors in this way before. This outcome gave us a glimpse of what a difference it makes when working with dedicated professionals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We utilized a cloud service to communicate and share documents, which worked very well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I admire their chosen path of focusing only on creating brands and corporate identities and not distracting themselves with various other services. Their creativity and design abilities make them stand out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, they met all of our requirements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and CEO of my own digital marketing and consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FictionDesign?

I needed a vendor to help me strategically build my brand identity.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted a message that communicated our values to our audience while positioning us well in the market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They offered high-quality services at an affordable price.

Describe the project in detail.

FictionDesign helped turn my ideas into a working brand strategy. We went through a back-and-forth process, making changes and revising communication strategies until we landed on a final brand identity. The engagement was pretty smooth.

What was the team composition?

Because they’re such a small studio, I was able to work directly with the founders of FictionDesign. It was a huge benefit because they’re very experienced in the branding space.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

With the help of FictionDesign, we now have a playful brand identity that communicates our message exactly the way we envisioned.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They managed the project pretty efficiently.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really appreciate the open access I had to the founders. It was like working with experienced resources from a large agency with the flexibility and efficiency of a small studio—all at an affordable price. With bigger companies, you’d have to pay at least three times as much for the same level of service I received from FictionDesign.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There’s room for improvement with every company. FictionDesign could’ve provided more detailed progress updates during the project. They implemented management tools to track their tasks after finishing my project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an Agency for Audio Branding, founded by my partner and myself 10 years ago. We create sonic worlds, that accurately embody your brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FictionDesign, and what were your goals?

The objective was to find a new visual identity that matches the values and the positioning of DoN.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We liked their past work, culture, and approach.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Translating the brand into a visual world (executed within online workshops), coming up with creative sketches/concepts, finetuning the chosen path, producing the assets with a redesigned webpage as the center of it all.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

One brand strategist, two designers with strategic mindset.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our website: http://departmentofnoise.com The DoN rebranding movie: https://vimeo.com/609747170

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The whole project was done purely virtual/digital. Fiction is used to this and have all the tools needed to exercise a design project on a remote basis. Every task has its tool.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We always felt understood, and they managed to come up with a result that was 100% in sync with the strategic thoughts on the brand that was delivered to them.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing worth mentioning.