Isodating By CLiKD | Branding Design
Isodating (a term coined by the dating app CLiKD) refers to ‘dating someone whilst following social distancing/self-isolation protocols.’ When the world was hit by the global pandemic in 2020, CLiKD wanted to do their part to help people continue to connect and meet new people safely. This inspired the company to create ‘Isodating packs’, the ultimate tool to help make any date (even a friendly one) entertaining and memorable, even if you couldn’t physically be together. They included wine, large scale backdrop prints of European cities, sweets and quizzes to bring people closer.
My Role:
- Logo Design
- Website Design
- Print Design
- Packaging Design
Problem I Was Solving:
My role was coming up with the visual identity of Isodating, beyond the meaning of the phrase. The project needed to have a coherent theme that clearly communicated what Isodating is and also appealed to a primarily Gen Z audience.
My Research and Initial Ideas:
My first step was to look at the previous research we’d compiled on Gen Z such as a mood board I’d made for CLiKD, as well as user personas. From there, I was able to get back into the Gen Z mindset.
I was then able to make some early design decisions, especially in terms of the colour scheme and general logo style. I decided on the following:
- Pastel colours
- A central aspect of overlays
- A sticker style visual
With Isodating, it was essential to find a way to convey what exactly it is and also show that it was something that would help alleviate stress in a time of need. Having pastel colours was a trend I’d been noticing with Gen Z aesthetics, overlays I felt could be a way of conveying how Gen Z can’t be put into one box as they identify in so many different ways and the sticker look is another Gen Z aesthetic that I had been noticing more and more, as well as their nostalgia for a time before their own.
This led me to trying to find ways to visually communicate that in a way that would be current and recognisable, so I looked at a lot of vector icon designs and simple ways to convey digital connections.
Design Process and Deliverables:
For the concept, I knew that it was essential for the logo to show what Isodating was. While the website would have the copy to explain it, the logo would be what people see first. I knew that I wanted smartphones to play a role in the concept, specifically two smartphones to show a connection between. With Facetiming becoming an even bigger phenomenon during the pandemic and the main way people were dating now (hence the inspiration for the term Isodating) that was essential as the central point.
From looking at the vector icon research, I was inspired to come up with ways to convey Facetiming. I went with a flat icon style design with the outlines on a smartphone and the camera screen we’ve all become accustomed to, but with very simplistic white shapes to represent the figure of someone Facetiming.
For the overlaying aspect, I had a solid colour block behind each of the smartphones. I went for pastel green and pink. Green represents health and growth because Isodating is all about staying safe for your health while continuing to grow, possibly with someone else. The pink represents compassion and sincerity, both values you’d want in a partner. Next was the dotted curved line with a red heart linking the smartphones and showing the digital (potential) love connection being made. For the font, I went with Verveine because of its handwritten quality. It conveys the human side that goes into making the Isodating packs. To top it all off, for the sticker effect, I put the whole design in a gradient circle outline, using the colours from the smartphones.
Now the logo was ready for the website, packaging, comp slips and the quiz (which I continued to use the linear gradient theme on) that were to be included in the Isodating packs.
The next step was the website, we started by outlining the basic information and pages needed for the website. There was a team of three of us working on the wireframing and the copy. My role here was to work on the website’s visual layout and refine the copy where needed. When all this was complete, Isodating was ready to accept orders for their packs.
Client’s Opinions:
CLiKD,who launched Isodating, were very happy with the branding and felt that it conveyed the fun aspect of the project and the project’s mission clearly.
Tools/Programmes I Used:
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- GoDaddy Web Builder
Project Tags
Companies
CLiKD
- Technology