ItsPayd, an alternative to collections agencies, is a start-up business located in Temecula, CA. The business aims to help companies “communicate with and collect from their customers in a way that is simple and automated, making it easier for companies to collect and still maintain a relationship with their customers, and making it easy for consumers.”
My goal for this project was to create a visual identity for ItsPayd that fit with their target audience and marketing strategies. I spent time learning about the business, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what audience they want to reach, methods and strategic planning for growth through social media and email marketing, and how they differentiate from competing businesses.
Additionally, I needed to understand the passion and character of the brand in order to give an accurate visual representation of that brand through the logo and color palette. The team at ItsPayd make it obvious that this is something that matters deeply to them. They have seen the stress and hardship that collections agencies inflict upon debtors, and they have drive to change the way that we approach debt altogether. When people visit their site, they want them to feel comforted and secure, which is why I chose this color palette. The brass and sienna colors are warm and inviting, drawing the user in. Navy blue is well known to give a sense of trust, which I felt was very important for a business that deals with financial management. The mint green color works great as an accent, the green color ties back to money and the softer hue is soothing to the eye. Midnight blue and linen grey serve as alternate neutral colors. The color palette as a whole is a more sophisticated version of the original orange and navy color scheme.
The logo started out as something that they threw together because they simply needed a logo, and like so many start-ups, they didn’t have time or resources to have one custom-designed. They basically thought of this version as a placeholder. There were some elements that they liked, such as the italicized “Payd” so I incorporated those elements into the new design. I chose a circular design as a symbol, again, of trust and security. I think the image of a circle can also depict an enclosing hug, giving our user the sense that the business has compassion for their struggles and promises a solution.
I built a branding board for ItsPayd to serve as a guide for their team and all of their collateral, displays, social media, business documents and website. It shows fonts, color codes, sample stock imagery logo styles, and some basic stylized formatting depicting the logo with text. This helped to solidify and unify their image business-wide.
ItsPayd saw an instant increase in social media traffic, views, and follows with the new visual identity in place. Their users seemed to have more trust in the business with their new brand identity and logo. The new look and feel directly impacted their users’ perceptions of the business and elevated them to reaching their goals for growth.
