After a year of being at August Schell as their visual and UX designer, I was finally able to dive into rebranding the company. My team created an entire new brand, produced all new content, and developed a new website. I was the digital lead for the project.

THE PROBLEM

August Schell has been growing steadily and their branding was not growing with them. They were stuck in a weird spot, constantly questioning “who are we?” and “how do we speak to our customers?”

They are a cybersecurity company that focuses on providing customized technology solutions to organizations in the federal space. They are known for their partnerships with leading technology companies (topics such as big data, end point management, virtualization, network security, and more) and for their engineers who are experts at building custom solutions using these leading technology products.

Previously, their branding felt very stiff and federal. Think pictures of the Capitol building, red white and blue, very Americana. There was no standardized marketing documents or necessary collateral. They had a website with no purpose. It did not explain who the company is and did not help in providing more leads or providing organizations with resources. The website needed to showcase the partnerships the company has while also explaining the three main facets of the business.

THE WEBSITE REDESIGN PROCESS

· RESEARCH THE USER

I created personas around on:
1) a start-up looking to partner with August Schell.
2) a enterprise sales rep working for a company who already partners with August Schell.
3) an agency that needs customized solutions for their IT environment.

In order to create the personas, I studied the analytics of our current website, talked to stakeholders of the company, and worked with partner companies of the organization to figure out their needs.

· CREATE MOCK UPS

Using Balsamiq, I created a few different mock ups. I presented 2 versions to my supervisor, who then worked with me to refine the UX of both mock ups, until we were able to decide what elements to implement into the final design that would be prototyped and tested.

· DESIGN PROTOTYPE

After creating the refined mock up for the new website, I was able to create a working prototype using Sketch for the visual design and InVision for the prototype.

THE SOLUTION

Visit the Site
After rounds of edits and presentations, I was able to design and develop the new website. It is now a platform that clearly showcases the new August Schell brand.

The company claimed it was a cutting-edge technology provider, so we wanted it to feel that way. Bringing the graphics, colors, and content up to date and using a design that was responsive and mobile friendly really helped our mission.

Not only is the branding updated, but the website now explicitly highlights what August Schell is and what the company does. It is aimed at users trying to get a good overview of the company and gain a trust in the companies mission and goals.

BRANDING AND GRAPHIC DESIGN

Along with the website, I was able to design:

• Business Cards
• Pop Up Banners
• Sales Enablement Documentation
• The new office space (the actual physical office!)
• Portfolio books
• eBooks and infographics for content syndication

Case Study

eBooks

Business Cards