(1) BRAND IDENTITY & STYLE GUIDE
Prior to any ideation, I held a kick-off meeting with the main stakeholder to understand the business, its segment, and unique value proposition. The information would be the foundation for BUILT’s visual brand identity. The following key takeaways from the meeting were as follows:
• Service offer: 90% business valuation, 10% ownership transfer consulting
• Client type: 85% Construction Contractors (building infrastructure), 15% other (engineering • firms, construction materials firms, building product manufacturers & distributors)
• Client location: United States
• Client size: $10M - $1B revenue
• No existing branding or style guides
In addition to the meeting, I researched the industry norm, taking a look at color palettes from existing competitors to evaluate how to make Built’s visual identity stand out while simultaneously being associated with its given sector. I also looked into their target audience to choose a color palette that resonated and conveyed the necessary emotions. Based on my findings, we agreed on something bold but balanced. This meant using colors of red (conveys authority and causes users to pause), blue (evokes trust and balances the loudness of the red), and gray (projects intelligence and maturity). When applied correctly, it represented BUILT as a seasoned expert in the evaluation field.
Once the colors were finalized, I incorporated them into the logo. Because this was the client’s very first attempt at choosing a logo, I created five logo options to see what resonated the most and what important aspects needed to be highlighted. After the feedback and testing on different mock-ups, we decided on a combination of the name in the brand's typography (Metropolis) and the silhouette of a building. A logo that is clean, straight to the point, and identifiable from the competition.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6023f9a29ba9d268780dc624/65fd58c070c70e6aba5658f5_BUILT-Branding-Guideline.png)
(2) WEB DESIGN
Before starting the sitemap, I conducted a competitive analysis to determine key differentiators that would define basic features of the website. For this research, I created an Excel spreadsheet that allowed me to easily compare and contrast Built Valuation's abilities to its top competitors. A few notable trends are listed below (due to proprietary information, I am limited to listing what is available):
• Most, if not all competitors are generalists, meaning they do not have a specific industry focus
• Competitors focus on a global scale, while Built targets US companies
• Homepages had an abundance of information (lack of white space) - 'busy'
After my research, I then focused on creating a user persona that would be the blueprint on how Built’s written and visual information would be presented to the user. It was imperative that I understood who the potential end users were going to be as this dictated various design elements on the website along with its structure. Due to time constraints, I created one user persona for this project. Rather than their demographics, I focused more on the users objectives and behaviors. Having worked in the AEC industry, I spoke with Principal Engineers from two local organizations to get a good grasp of who might be looking for a firm like Built Valuations. Below are the takeaways for capturing users:
• Principal Engineer from a civil engineering firm revisiting exit strategies due to stakeholders retiring from the company
• Age: 55
• Currently a stakeholder and board member
• Discussing the next five years of the company with several transitions ocurring in the leadership team
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6023f9a29ba9d268780dc624/65fd5936e07c895f65ac89b9_User-Persona.png)
As soon as the user persona was completed, I created the sitemap for the website. Building a sitemap or web diagram, helped me provide a clear picture to the owner how each page would be laid out. Since readability and context were two user needs determined for this project, it was important that the website was structured in a way that users would be able to find and digest information easily.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6023f9a29ba9d268780dc624/65fd59710d7b86cc124c6b53_Web-Diagram.png)
With the sitemap completed, I moved on to wireframes. Due to the short turnaround time for this project, I started with high fidelity wireframes. This not only allowed me to define basic features and the main user journey of the website, but also present it to the stakeholder. I used Figma to create the wireframes and work with the stakeholder to refine image and icon placements. The main items to note on the design are noted below:
• Easy navigation and curated content
• Homepage provides a quick summary of services
• Images highlight focus on construction and infrastructure segments
• Slide animations provided hierarchy of information presentation
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6023f9a29ba9d268780dc624/65fd59d669eef43c87107e87_Wireframe-1.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6023f9a29ba9d268780dc624/65fd59e74302bf90a534c9be_Wireframe-2.png)
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