Balancing brand and scale

When we started the journey of redesigning and replatforming the docusign.com/blog one of our design team's top considerations was balancing branded assets with scale.

Moving from a type-forward design to a visual forward blog experience meant thousands of posts across 11 regions globally would need to be updated. To effectively evolve and upkeep this extensive collection, we knew we needed to develop a system that would facilitate localization efforts and empower our talented authors with the ability to seamlessly create branded visuals.

So we started where any designer would: an audit of our visual assets since launching the new Docusign brand in April. This audit assessed the localization complexity associated with each asset and by undertaking this analysis, we gained valuable insights into the feasibility of implementing various visual elements across different regions.

Rooted in brand strategy

Beyond efficiency, the audit served a strategic purpose – aligning visual elements with our core brand values. Our aim was to leverage visual communication to effectively convey themes of collaboration and trust, all while embodying our established brand archetypes:

🔮 Sage—spreading intelligence

🪄 Magician—enabling transformation

👑 Ruler—creates structure

⛰️ Hero—service to society

We used visual cues such as intersecting shapes and images to demonstrate our brand promise: when something connects, it comes to life. Our pictogram vignettes made of elements derived from a basic set of geometric shapes that echo the forms that come together around the Shape of Agreements in the Nexus icon itself.

Just getting started

This project marks a significant turning point in our visual storytelling journey on the Docusign blog. As we continuously refine our approach, we remain steadfast in our commitment to harnessing the power of visuals to forge deeper connections with our audience. Through captivating and innovative visual experiences, we strive to communicate our message in a way that resonates and inspires. Stay tuned for further updates on our visual storytelling endeavors!

Check out the experience yourself at docusign.com/blog