THE EMPATHY HEART
USER CONNECT CONSULTANCY
The seemingly subtle addition of converting one of the four dots into an ‘empathy heart’, added warmth and a human aspect to the brand’s communication. At the same time imbue the other three dots with a value each - Passion, Curiosity, Integrity. The heart was a physical translation of the brand tagline- “putting human connect at the heart of business”.
CLIENT
User Connect Consultancy
Domain
User Research
CATEGORY
User Connect Consultancy (UCC) is a Hyderabad based boutique user research practice. The studio immerses in the world of user behaviour with the aim of equipping businesses with bold, honest, and uncompromising user insights. UCC bridges gaps between enterprises and users by building an unbiased and transparent research system to provide data that can actively transform business strategy. It enables businesses and start-ups to develop research backed products, services and strategy for advanced user experience.
The grids in the website from the journal give a structured and clear backdrop to the graphics, imagery and content, without interfering with either. It creates a feel of going through a research journal, which sets the tone for the primary purpose of UCC.
The team utilized the digital sticky note designs to create the template to showcase the brand’s past case studies. The design focused on breaking the case studies into four distinct parts: the client brief, the project’s impact and key facts, supported by a single impactful photo from the project. The Design team handled this challenge ingeniously by designing a storytelling template to showcase their work. The website now serves as a representation for the brand, inviting potential customers to see themselves achieve their goals with UCC in their future partnership.
The organisation’s characteristic youthful, exuberant and vivacious energy in operation and making connections had to be represented in the house colours. A bright orange placed on a white background was a deliberated choice for the brand. A vibrant, stimulative colour that encourages communication and sociability, the orange lends itself to the theme of human connection. It expresses the brand’s purpose of enabling their partners by adding the human connect at every stage in the business and product development. The game of connect four inspired the four dots that are visible across UCC’s branding highlighting the company’s vision to connect businesses with their users.
December developed a type based identity for UCC that centred around human connections. The intended ligature between the three letters of UCC represent connectivity and bridging of gaps.
During the pandemic, UCC realigned its processes. The operations had become digital , the connect had gone global. UCC needed a brand identity that complemented this significant shift. The project comprised of creating a digital-first brand with global operation. The pivot from more focused, face-to-face interactions to a remote, digital-first communication called for a bolder expression and outreach of UCC. Over the years, they quickly adapted to each business requirement and streamlined their research methodology while efficiently planning and executing projects. The challenge was to bring out the physical characteristics of their digital operation into their brand language.
The researcher’s journal was one physical attribute that justified the depiction of the updated version of UCC. The blue colour and grid pattern presented UCC as a well-structured, efficient team, focused on research while being adaptive to a wide range of clients. Thus, creating a balance between the empathic values and the driven focus towards business. Products and services are designed around the user and placing people in the researcher’s journal was key to UCC’s visual environment. Putting the end users as the face of brand was a strategic decision.
