Visual Identity Redesign for Social Innovation Studio
Crafting a new look for social media, newsletters, and website to reflect a growing studio portfolio
Social Innovation Studio (SIS) sits at the intersection of behavioral science, systems thinking, and grassroots impact. Since 2021, the studio delivering high-impact programs for partners like Maruti Suzuki and Plustrust. As the studio entered it’s growth phase, its visual presence needed to evolve to reflect its expanding capabilities and maturity. The objective was to transition the brand from a quiet consultant firm to a confident, forward-facing industry leader in the development sector.
We developed a visual language that balances the academic nature of behavioral science with the approachability required for community work. The visual direction moved towards 'playful but purposeful' with the intention of appearing inviting, clear and functional for complex frameworks and diagrams. The rebrand made possible to make sub-brands and micro-systems.
Team members: Nehal Shanbagh, Ankita Mirani, Abhishek Sinha
Branding
UI/UX Design
Illustration
Key elements
Color Palette
Moved to bold and confident hues for a highly saturated palette. This enabled a WCAG-compliant contrast palette for all formats. The wide range of colours later helped in categorisation of services and social media campaigns
Typography
Geometric, screen-first sans-serif fonts were visualised for existing and upcoming marketing formats. Asap and Open Sans were suitable for educational as well as marketing content. Heavy use of weight contrast to guide through dense information.
Graphic & Illustration Style
The imagery was a mix of conceptual illustrations. diagrams, and stakeholder depiction. Flat design with hand-drawn strokes and colour blocking ensured a clean yet playful look while focusing on consistency and modularity of layouts.
Design System & Execution
(A) Website
The website received minor updates in sprints to incorporate the visual language in a seamless manner. With better sections, playful layouts and lighter colours, the redesigned website offered uniformity and easy navigation.
(B) Social Media
Created layout templates for each content pillar and campaign for maintaining strict visual consistency. A "kit of parts" approach was taken, where elements can be remixed endlessly to rapidly produce content. This also aligned with the marketing team's editorial approach to target the right people over more people.
(C) Newsletter
New content structure informed a new layout with custom animated headers and sections. Ideated in Figma and executed in Mailchimp, the newsletter pushed the boundaries of what is possible in marketing-first tools like Mailchimp.
Outcome
The refreshed identity successfully repositioned SIS as a fresh and active player in the social impact sector. The new system provided the internal team with the tools to deliver high-quality narratives across formats, and ensure that their visual presence aligned with the future.