Innovate. Disrupt. Win.
Orion Wealthtech
Orion is a leading company that provides fully connective, disruptive technology and investment solutions through an open architecture platform. Their focus is on empowering growth-oriented fiduciary advisors to better serve their clients and achieve greater success.
As a business offering cutting-edge technology, Orion’s previous branding did not reflect the innovative and forward-thinking nature of their business. The typography and color scheme felt outdated, the graphic elements were repetitive, and the stock imagery was uninspired.
Chasing a more modern look, Orion engaged 20nine to evolve its branding. While the original logo remained untouched, the visual system was thoroughly overhauled to achieve a flexible, sophisticated, B2C-leaning aesthetic across web, marketing assets and internal activations. This update was critical to maintaining familiarity with their established customer base while also freshly standing out from their competitors in the industry.
Role
Art Director & Lead Designer
Created at 20nine 𝄪 2022–2023
Deliverables
Visual System Evolution
Master Brand Book
Top-Level Web Page Design
Print & Digital Marketing Templates
Trade Show Experience Exploration
Team
Creative Direction: Kevin Hammond
Supporting Designer: Gianna DiAddezio
Web Developer: E3
The Brand Evolution
Our main goal was to shift Orion’s brand into a tech-forward, sleek realm. Since the logo couldn’t change, we wanted to use it as the driving inspiration behind a flexible graphic system for accents and container shapes — a sort of Nike swoosh moment.
Extracting a singular blade from the logomark, we manipulated it on an isometric angle to evoke the idea of forward momentum. From there, I built out three different styles and use cases for the fan blade: as a framing element, for translucent abstract patterns and as an anchoring accent behind key statements or imagery.
I also developed a subtle tech grid system to further emphasize Orion’s technology and open architecture. We used this as a background pattern and framing border element for graphs, tables and marketing covers.
The combination of grid and fan blades, used separately or together, helped keep things consistent without getting overly repetitive.
In addition to the defining graphic elements, we refined the color palette and type systems, developed an iconography library, storyboarded animation styles, worked on data visualization styles and curated a series of photo direction buckets. Everything was centered around speed, motion and innovation, all buttoned up in a 100+ page master brand book.
The Application
After completing the brand guide, we shifted our focus to designing the primary pages of the Orion website. Our goal was to create a dynamic, interactive experience that had a similar look and feel to successful business-to-consumer companies like Apple and Stripe, our client’s favorite inspirations.
Starting with the homepage (see the old version here), we utilized ample white space and designed a flow that seamlessly alternates between providing detailed and top-level information on Orion's processes, products, clients, stats and resources. This approach allows visitors to quickly grasp the key features of Orion's offerings while still providing opportunities to learn more.
In addition to the the homepage, I art directed several key pages (Resources, Events, product overviews), collaborating with freelance front-end web designer Azzum Naeem. I set up top-level style sheets for typography, spacing, color usage/accessibility, and components that we eventually handed off to Orion’s web developers E3. Taking our core page designs and components, they built out the rest of the website across desktop and mobile, going live in 2023.
Apart from developing the website, we were also responsible for creating a mountain of marketing and sales materials. We explored various templates with a flexible system for Orion’s corporate stationery, social posts, brochures, whitepapers, logo animations, podcast covers, print ads, digital banner ads and more.
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