// Project.The WIP Brand
My Role
I don't think the majority of people would say where they work has had a profound impact on who they are on a personal level. I'm happily in the minority on this one. WorkInProgress has meant so much to me for the last 7+ years. After graduating and moving to Boulder, I joined the founding partners as a freelancer only a few months after they opened the agency, simply by writing them a letter and asking if they needed design help. That quickly turned into me becoming their first employee, and eventually leading the design team.
For the first three to four years of that span of time, I was our only designer. I was given opportunities to work on countless projects for prominent brands, but I also was responsible for the brand of WIP itself, from our logos through our pitch decks. I always strive not to have a single style because I don't believe in being a one-dimensional designer, but if I had one, it would be what I injected into WIP.
I centered the brand around 3 colors: cyan, yellow, and red. Why? Because those are primary colors (well, cyan isn't blue but close enough), and those three colors make everything else. They embody the work in progress mindset - getting in the trenches and making something from nothing, figuring it out even if you don't know what you're doing.
I intentionally never made it a rigid brand with strict guard rails. It's fluid and ever-changing to flex into whatever need has to be fulfilled, and those three colors carry most of the weight in making it identifiable as WIP. The brand can be dressed up for sophisticated presentations, or let it's hair down to have fun with vintage themed apparel.
As much as I'd love to, I don't have the time to make an all-encompassing timeline of the brand and its evolution over the years. So instead, this page will be a collection of some of my favorite pieces I've made for WIP.
For the first three to four years of that span of time, I was our only designer. I was given opportunities to work on countless projects for prominent brands, but I also was responsible for the brand of WIP itself, from our logos through our pitch decks. I always strive not to have a single style because I don't believe in being a one-dimensional designer, but if I had one, it would be what I injected into WIP.
I centered the brand around 3 colors: cyan, yellow, and red. Why? Because those are primary colors (well, cyan isn't blue but close enough), and those three colors make everything else. They embody the work in progress mindset - getting in the trenches and making something from nothing, figuring it out even if you don't know what you're doing.
I intentionally never made it a rigid brand with strict guard rails. It's fluid and ever-changing to flex into whatever need has to be fulfilled, and those three colors carry most of the weight in making it identifiable as WIP. The brand can be dressed up for sophisticated presentations, or let it's hair down to have fun with vintage themed apparel.
As much as I'd love to, I don't have the time to make an all-encompassing timeline of the brand and its evolution over the years. So instead, this page will be a collection of some of my favorite pieces I've made for WIP.
// The WIP Brand.Website
I recently redesigned the WIP website after seven years since the launch of the original. I did an audit of dozens of other agency websites, determined what was working and what wasn't, then applied those learnings. The resulting goal was to create something that was simple and effectively showcased the work, but also demonstrated our personality and capabilities. I relied on touches of motion and small interactions to elevate the overall quality.
You can check out the website here. In addition to designing it, I also developed it. You'll probably notice a few small stylistic overlaps between it and this site. Like I said, I injected myself into the WIP brand.
You can check out the website here. In addition to designing it, I also developed it. You'll probably notice a few small stylistic overlaps between it and this site. Like I said, I injected myself into the WIP brand.
// The WIP Brand.Presentation Template
One of the reasons I initiated a redesign of the website was because our touchpoints had gotten out of sync, and our deck no longer looked like our digital presence. Naturally, when redesigning the website I also applied the new brand style to our presentation decks.
// The WIP Brand.Wippy the Notebook
When the agency first started growing in number of employees, we did our first big round of swag. One of the items was a moleskine notebook, and the design for that notebook resulted in the creation of Wippy the Notebook, iconic WIP character. While he first lived on the cover of the moleskine notebook, he then found a home on our crew neck sweatshirts, which quickly became our most popular swag item and the gift we send to agency partners and clients. They proudly show him off on instagram pretty frequently. He also gained a crew of friends in our first Valentine's Day gift chocolates.
// The WIP Brand.Badges
For the agency's sixth anniversary, I designed a series of stickers that I turned into the flash sheet above. This is what I was getting at when I earlier said I aimed to keep the brand flexible - even though it's far removed from the style of the website and deck, it still feels like WIP.
// The WIP Brand.Desktop Backgrounds
I love learning new skills. Design and 3D software are like playgrounds, but I like to have a goal when I'm playing. Desktop backgrounds always provided the best goal: make something cool people want to look at whenever they open their computer.