Project background:
Chowdhury Engineering is a private structural engineering firm based in Leesburg, Virginia providing general and specialized services in engineering and serves the Commonwealth of Virginia along with surrounding districts in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
Client Name:
Riazul Chowdhury P.E., Founder of Chowdhury Engineers
End Users:
Clients, website visitors, business owner
My Role:
Lead graphic designer and visual project manager
Collaborators:
None
Focus Areas:
Branding, visual identity, typography, wireframing, website design, print & digital marketing collateral, stakeholder communications
Timeline:
12 weeks
Tools used:
managed deliverables:
Logo, branding guidelines, business card design, white paper design, custom website design
Project purpose:
The aim of this project was to create a contemporary brand identity that conveys the values of the firm's founder. These values being; accuracy, understanding, integrity and hard work. Furthermore, the visual identity was developed to span across all mediums and touchpoints. Additionally, the website design was designed to help customers find company information, tell the brand story, and funnel towards consultation form submissions.
My process (an overview):
Review existing brand guidelines and assets from competitors within the engineering industry, consult CEO for current brand positioning and priorities, meet with client to discuss deliverables, create media deliverables tracker, produce wireframes, produce deliverables, maintain feedback loop, share deliverables, iterate final revisions, track project status in tracker, share final files with client along with established brand guidelines in PDF format.
What I learned:
While utilizing illustrator, the shape builder tool proved immensely useful for the creation of the brand symbols and secondary shapes for usage on collateral, digital marketing channels and future use on web. Furthermore, the use of the tool Notion proved to be very helpful in organizing brand assets and file uploading across different platforms like mobile to desktop or from Windows to Apple iOS.
Additionally, I enjoyed learning more about the existing design systems that are in place for other companies and why they are important for a strong brand. The consistency that had to be maintained for all touchpoints is essential for designers, writers, customers and business stakeholders alike. They make for a more cohesive brand that can effectively separate itself from other key players within the specialized structural engineering niche.
What I would do differently:
Although marketing collateral was produced, perhaps the creation of a template for one-pagers, presentation slides and invoice documents would prove useful for future sales operations and internal communications. This would contribute for a universal design system that employees can easily customize and rely on in addition to the existing brand guidelines and white paper templates.
Something I would change within the web design concept would be to create a stronger landing page to intrigue new visitors and increase the rate of conversions. The landing page serves as the first impression, and in order to maintain a high value proposition, I believe a redesigned landing page that tells a story about the company's value proposition would serve as a stronger asset. This is exactly what I decided to change and implement within the final version of the site, which is now live.
Phase 1: Logo design and typography
Requirements:
• Memorable logo design
• Established typography and color palette
• Strong visual communication
Phase Description:
A strong visual identity starts with the logo and typography choices. In this phase, the type family used was "Nimbus Sans Extd."
The three primary brand colors used were Jet Black #101010, Maroon #761113, and Bright Red #ED1C24.
Process:
• Started with a rough sketches on paper.
• Condensed main visual ideas to a final logo.
• Logo paired with font that evokes strong emotions of reliability/hero.
• Picked color palette to align with brand.
• Developed mock-ups to display branding for multiple applications.
• Confirmed final logo and typography guides with client feedback, tracked in media tracker via Notion.
Phase 2: Marketing collateral and advertising assets
Requirements:
• A business card design and white paper design
• Showcases brand logo
• Follows brand guidelines (typography, color palette)
• Export white paper to proper formats for web and print
• Create collateral mockup to showcase design
Phase Description:
This marketing collateral serves as initial documents to support business operations. White paper case study serves as a template for future web and print documents.
Process:
• I implemented brand guidelines, researched and outlined formatting options.
• Analyzed previous marketing materials to understand brand positioning. Reviewed industry best practices to better understand what the client needed.
• Determined design asset mix including; iconography, stock images, vector shapes, & client-provided images.
• Spent a few days refining and reiterating collateral ideas with my client for future use.
• Updated media tracker in Notion to stay on track with project deadline. Emailed project status to client to keep them updated of branding progress.
Phase 3: Wireframe website design
Requirements:
• Accurate wireframe that reflects site map and website requirements.
• Provide high fidelity design of home page.
• Include icons, symbols, stock images, and colors to reflect brand guidelines.
• Secure final high fidelity mockup for integration to Webflow site builder in Phase 4
Phase Description:
All wireframes and mockups are drafted on paper. The client is able to realize the final vision for the website, including structure and functionality. This step is crucial for transitioning into Phase 4: Building the final website inside Webflow.
Process:
• Established rough wireframe on pen and paper, then transferred to Adobe XD for revisions and further development.
• Reviewed each section for strong text hierarchy.
• Researched best homepage design practices for most effective experience to end user.
• Completed final mockup with Adobe XD.
Phase 4: Build website using Webflow Builder Tool
Requirements:
• Analyze website wireframe for Webflow integration
• Develop copywriting needed for pages
• Prepare website assets and images to Webflow CMS
• Fully functioning website with 5 pages and consultation form
• Accounts for accessible design
• Test, refine and launch final website on custom domain
Phase Description:
The need for a website design was crucial to wrap up this brand identity project together. This allowed me to directly apply the brand design guidelines to a real life application for customers to see and feel.
Process:
• Established rough wireframe on pen and paper, then transferred to Adobe XD for revisions and further development.
• Review each page for errors in copywriting, accuracy on contact information and display fonts.
• Develop design using webflow website builder tool. The website was structured to include 5 working pages including: Home page, About Us page, Industry Expertise page, Services page, Contact us page and an error 404 page.
• Tested all website links, navigation buttons, form and checked for formatting issues on mobile, tablet, laptop versions.
• Launched final website design under custom domain: chowdhuryengineers.com