Women in Technical Sales
While working at Audienz I was tasked with creating a visual identity for an internal Microsoft community for Women in Technical Sales and Marketing. This quick branding project included a logo mark for the community, and unique branded templates for presentations and communications. I worked as the designer for this project along side a team of Audienz marketing consultants who helped manage the project.
The Challenge
The biggest challenge with this project was to create a visual identity that fit within the Microsoft visual guidelines (colors, fonts, ect.) while really standing out as a unique brand that is visually bold and energetic. It was important for us to visually focus on “inclusion”, reaching a diverse group, empowering, and enabling achievement in an area where two words may cause trepidation – technical and sales.
My Process
The first deliverable was the logo design, and I started by creating a mood-board to gather inspiration and explore the possible visual directions to take the logo design. Even though this was project was on a quick timeline and I only had 8 hours to create the first version of the logo, this helped me generate quality ideas quicker. I incorporated the Microsoft colors and font, while exploring different way to separate it from the standard Microsoft branding. Below are a few initial options that we pitched to the client.
Initial Logo Design Options
Final Logo Designs
After a few rounds of revisions we settled on the "Trend Line W" concept below which is a bit more bold and vibrant, as well as sleek and rounded. This concept combines a "W" for women, and a subtle growth chart pattern that symbolizes successful sales.
Powerpoint Template
Once we nailed down the logo, I used the visual elements from that design (such as rounded edges, vibrant gradients, and subtle 3D shadows) to create a uniquely branded powerpoint deck template for the Women in Technical Sales community. In designing this deck I focused on themes of diversity, inclusion, and community while also keeping it simple, vibrant, and easy for the client to use. The scope of this branding project did not include a full style guide because it is not an actual Microsoft brand, but an internal community identity. Although we did include a formatting guide to clarify how to use the deck template consistently and correctly (pictured below).
