Pathzero visual refresh

Visually shifting a brand from friendly and open to strong and sophisticated.

Context

When I joined Pathzero in November 2021, the company was in the process of pivoting its market strategy – shifting from a B2B model of helping individual companies measure and offset emissions – towards a model of targeting large institutional investors and the hundreds of companies in their investment portfolios to measure, reduce and ultimately, achieve net zero emissions.

Problem

I realised that targeting those investors leading hundreds of millions of dollars in investments would look and feel very different in tone than the open market branding the company had started with.

How could we appeal to a traditional, heavily regulated and sought after market? How might we accomplish this with little appetite internally to invest in a full rebrand?

Process

I worked with another designer to create moodboards to help guide possible visual directions. Tagging on to an already approved website refresh, we presented one of the visual directions to the head of marketing and senior leadership, pitching the direction as a brand prototype that could be incorporated into the new website development. From there, we proposed using the website learnings to update further materials in a slow and steady transition of the brand to a refreshed visual identity that could compete in a different target market.

Pathzero Identity: Before

User

B2B, public and private companies, small (1-2 employees) -- medium large (100 employees)

User goals

Understand how much the company is emitting, potentially offset those emissions, some might look to become carbon neutral certified

Tone

Friendly, open, confident

Imagery

Limited green-based palette, open sans-serif font, icon-based imagery

Goals to solve for

Increase the sophistication of the brand to match new target market of investors and their portfolio companies
Shift tone from friendly and open to professional and sophisticated
How might we better evoke the new brand promise of decarbonisation journeys in our imagery?

Pathzero Identity: After

User

B2C, institutional investors and their investment portfolio companies

User goals

Investors can view individual company and total portfolio emissions and form strategies to get to a future of net zero emissions

Tone

Professional, confident, sophisticated, trusted

Imagery

Extended palette with 7 hues comprised of 7+ steps each, grotesk sans-serif font, topography and abstract shapes for spot iconography

Key changes

Researched and advocated for new brand typefaces: IBM Plex Sans paired with Fraktion, both grotesk fonts to ground content in more geometric shapes, less open apertures
Collaborated with another designer to source and compile color palettes, selecting a set that I then developed into a larger range for use in marketing as well a product design system
Compiled graphic exploration to help work with an external agency and art direct topography elements for use on the website. I took those assets and refined + expanded them for use in other marketing materials as well as key product areas.
Designed and produced a set of branded spot icons to shift the generic icon-based imagery to strong, solid shapes that could easily be repurposed and scaled