Branding & Identity and UIUX design developed for co-founded startup
A startup and webapp that acts as the Airbnb of physical storage space, connecting providers with unused space to users looking for cheaper storage venues. Inspired by watching college students struggle to find cheap and convenient storage over summer. Conceived and incorporated at a 4-week incubator experience. Featured on StartupTV Boston, invited to an ABC Shark Tank Casting Call, raised $20k seed through Sand Hill VCs.
Role– Product Designer, Marketer (team of 4)
Date– 06/2016 - 06/2018
Biggest Challenge– taking on multiple roles in launching not only a product, but a company
Biggest Takeaway– how important it is to be a team player, and more broadly how important it is to have the correct team of players
-simplistic UI based on Airbnb style
-integrated feedback from initial users
Co-founding a startup taught me a lot about design and business. It was my first time tackling such a "real" design problem that I was so personally invested in. As an early-stage co-founder, I had to take on a multitude of roles from design to marketing. Through this, I realized how closely design relates to business fundamentals, and that design thinking lies at the heart of all real-world problems. From initial mockups to integrated UI, I spent hours iterating and re-iterating our platform.
Producing marketing materials meant first producing a brand. In doing so, I made design decisions based on the service we focused around.
-SPARE comes from Space + Share, hence our tagline: if there’s room to Spare, there’s room to share.
-Bright orange is reminiscent of the famous orange Public Storage garages seen around the states
-Extra leading in text implies a feeling of space and declutter
Designing the Spare logo, I had several objects in mind for inspiration:
-S to represent Spare, the company name
-A circle to represent community
-A square to represent storage and boxes
-A line-to-point link to represent location and connection
After some iteration, I landed on an S and circle that flowed in one smooth stroke, finishing in a square. The design is minimal and recognizable when scaled.