The Problem
Greatist’s core mission is to help millennials discover their own personal path to be happy and healthy. Their original branding was heavy on hand-drawn elements and a playful and optimistic color palette. It was youthful, but looked too similar to other millennial media companies. We wanted to give the brand some more edge, toughness, boldness and a louder voice.
The Solution
To give the brand more vibrancy and energy, my Art Director and I minimized the color palette and included sharper angles and contrast in the illustration style. We retained some of the hand-drawn style from the original branding, but leaned more into a vector-based, abstract style. Ultimately, we made the aesthetic more own-able to Greatist.
I created these illustrated patterns and motifs as a design system for the brand. Our team shared these illustrations to maintain consistency across our visuals.
Social: Before and After
Greatist’s old Instagram were almost entirely regrams other accounts and 70% of its followers lived in non-English-speaking countries. The feed did not reflect much of Greatist’s branding or content. Within a year, we reduced the amount of regrams by 80%, created our own content in the new Greatist style, and increased the number of followers in English-speaking countries. I worked with my Art Director to develop the feed’s look and feel and was the primary designer and illustrator.
Role: Editorial Designer and Illustrator
Art Directors: Madeleine Weiss and Keith Ciampa