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Why the FigJam brand refresh is π₯
Guess what, Reader? I've finally opened up new mentoring session slots.
I had a bunch of great replies to last weeks issue about why I've stuck with marketing and brand design in my career instead of switching to product. It seems the things I shared got some of you thinking harder about what types of problems you want to be designing solutions for.
If you'd like some advice on next steps to take in your career, book a mentoring session and we'll talk it through together!
Moving on. In this issue:
- Taking a look at some FigJam brand updates
- My daily routine for working remote in NZ
- A sneak peek at my upcoming digital product...
Dive in!
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The FigJam brand refresh
My love for FigJam is a bit of a running joke on the ConvertKit team. I think I'd even go so far as to say it's my all-time favorite tool. So naturally, when I saw this thread from Figma's Creative Director Damien Correll about some updates the team have been making to the FigJam brand I clicked through eagerly.
February 8th 2023
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In his thread, Damien shared that the team identified two key principles for forming these visuals:
1. Express the shape of an idea
2. Demonstrate the progress in the process
Here's a look at some of the new brand elements formed from these principles:
Groups of sticky notes combine to form shapes called "idea piles". They act as containers for patterns and shapes that have a beautiful 'contained chaos' to them. The stickies are always presented in groups to signify generating a lot of ideas, from a group of different people.
There's a new font, Figma Hand, that the team developed alongside Oh no Type co that's available for use in the product itself, and is also being used on brand properties to add a human touch that communicates 'this is a WIP'.
Check out the new hero section on the FigJam marketing site:
and how Figma Hand and hand drawn accents are being used within product screenshots as well as on top of them.
You need to click through to the site yourself to see these brand elements in motion, as that's a really important part of the refresh too that's harder for me to show in email!
Why do I love this brand refresh?
Firstly, the principles are truly great creative direction. There was a lot of different ways they could have been applied and they invite creativity, but they're still clear enough to be helpful with decision making. Setting this type of direction is something I'm working on getting better at, so I loved learning from Damien's approach on this.
Second, I really like how this refresh clearly separates and contrasts FigJam from Figma. While I still wish I could just have a FigJam page inside a Figma file to kick off a project, the truth is they are separate products that serve different needs: FigJam is the messy and inspiring beginning of the creative process, Figma is for taking that inspiration through to a final product.
The contrast shows up nicely in the Product dropdown navigation.
While there's still an element of constructed chaos to the Figma illustration too it's clear that it's the place for pixel perfection to happen, whereas FigJam invites you to get messy.
Third, they've used motion well. This is something I'm also working on layering into our brand at ConvertKit. The animation on the FigJam site delicately toes the line between demonstrating activity & progress, and going overboard. Brand elements are animated, product screenshots are animated, icons are animated... it's a lot; but it really does capture the fun feeling of energy that happens inside a FigJam file when a team is collaborating.
Lastly, there's a hand drawn font. I mean, you've seen my font, Grayscale, right? I clearly love a legible but organic typeface. (PS: my font is only $12 for personal use, grab a copy!)
Want to learn more about Figma's Brand Studio team? Listen to Inside Marketing Design
Back in 2021 I interviewed Damien and Senior Brand Designer Remilla Ty about their work as part of Figma's Brand Studio team. Tune in to learn more from their process! (and maybe I need a specific FigJam focussed episode in season 4?)
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| Watch or listen to the Figma episode |
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And make sure you check out Damien's Twitter thread for more behind-the-scenes of this brand refresh in particular.
What do you think about the FigJam brand refresh? Reply and let me know!
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My daily routine when I'm working remote in New Zealand
Have you ever wondered what it's like to work remote in NZ for a company based in the US? In my latest video I documented my daily routine when I'm in my home country visiting family (and spoiler alert: my day starts WAY too early)
I'm back in Spain now and happy to have my meeting-free mornings back! But I hope you enjoy seeing how I make use of one of the greatest perks of working at a remote company: working from anywhere in the world π
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As a little treat for reading all the way to the end, here's a sneak peek of the digital product I've been working on the past few weeks!
Looks fun, huh? I'll share more about it soon! (and you'll be please to know that every single one of those layers above has an actual name. I know. Very unlike me π
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Enjoy this issue? Click the heart to let me know.
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Marketing Design Dispatch
by Charli Marie
Join 17,000+ creatives receiving insider insights about brand and marketing design β featuring landing page and rebrand breakdowns, useful career content, and a behind-the-scenes look at running a Brand Studio team in tech.