Sometimes the best work happens with clients who have similar aspirations as I do with Ensage—build meaningful digital products. In fact, Scott Poynton—the force behind A Different Way—found me through a former startup I experimented with during the pandemic age.
Scott‘s mission is to help businesses create a chain of values, by helping social entrepreneurs, change-makers, sustainability professionals and mediators reach their goal of creating a positive impact for people and the planet, at scale.
Why do I talk about the person and not the project, you might ask? Because A Different Way is a personal brand—a branding territory that I‘m passionate about, which is why I embarked on a journey to help Scott with a logo and website design.
Searching for the right vibe
A logomark, no matter how small, sets the visual leitmotif. From the get-go, I knew the logomark should break a few logo rules and become a symbol of joy. By putting the practical side of my brain aside, I sketched a few ideas, trying to capture a feeling of heart-led business and the promise of a new beginning.
A winning logo from the archives
All of the sketches lacked that special something. I didn‘t know what that was until I remembered an old symbol I did a few years back. Resurrecting it from the archives and pairing it with the custom lettering I designed for this logo, magic happened. After a few tweaks voila—the winning logo emerged.
Onwards to the website
In fact, it turned out more of a landing page, with a blog included than a full-blown multi-page website. But my advice to Scott was that that‘s just enough so he can present his vision to social entrepreneurs and change-makers across the earth.
Mimicing the natural world into the web
Scott‘s actual work is more offline than online. Out there, in the fields, helping rural communities bring change.
It‘s gritty, muddy, and I wanted to mirror the same throughout the visual design. That‘s why you‘ll barely see any straight lines. It‘s organic and a bit rough around the edges. Just like nature. Nature tends to curve things.
Beyond logo and website
The website‘s function is to tell the story and to act as the gateway for change-makers to embark on a journey within the online community curated by Scott on Circle.
To create a coherent visual outlook, I used my CSS skills and themed a few elements inside the community platform, so the experience from the website to the community echoes the brand‘s essence.
Beyond pixels and code
Besides my creative and technical input, I helped Scott shape his brand narrative, ensuring that every marketing channel spoke a consistent language that resonated with the intended audience.
But what makes me most happy is that, while many online communities fade into obscurity, Scott‘s passion and persistence in giving unconditional value to each member of the community proves to be a testament to his high engagement and ensagement rates today.
It was a rewarding experience to work with Zlatko. His “ensage” approach jumped out at me when I saw it. His commitment to deeply human values made him stand out and I‘m thrilled with the final result. Now… to our next project together!