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Harry Bennett
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DIA utilise character and concept to kinetically unify Mailchimp’s identity and digital presence


Brought in to enliven, animate and unify Mailchimp's identity, NYC and Geneva-based design studio DIA have evolved the internationally-operating marketing platform’s brand; in doing so implementing a comprehensive, cohesive and characterful kinetic system. Allowing Mailchimp to internally and externally implement their lively creative output like never before.

Having reviewed the brand’s existing graphic elements, such as their punchy colour palette, charming textural illustrations and iconic ‘Freddie’ logo, DIA also noted the limitations the identity possessed, including a lack of scalability for digital assets, video production, advertisements and social media. Working within and across these areas, DIA developed an innate flexibility and variability for Mailchimp’s digital output – conceptually addressing the disconnect between the brand’s output and its offering by allowing the virtual to inform the physical.

DIA utilise character and concept to kinetically unify Mailchimp’s identity and digital presence

“Our main objective was to convert some existing assets into a scalable system that works in functional brand touchpoints and all motion assets,” Partner & Creative Director Mitch Paone tells us, “not just marketing and print,” he adds, noting the production issues and unintentional disregard for the original illustration and art direction. “We focused on building the system out of the most foundational elements around the logo,” Paone explains, touching on the logo’s outlined form, the colours used and the implementation of typography. The result is a bouncy, vibrant and memorable character and personality; dexterously balancing function and expression.

Developing a suite of kinetic assets, toolkits and guidelines for Mailchimp, DIA make clear the strength in simplicity, and embellishing what makes a brand unique. “It's all about Freddie,” Paone remarks, “so the motion represents a biomechanical swagger of Freddie across all motion elements,” he explains, noting the influence of Freddie’s silhouette. “The shapes and linework are directly developed from the form of the Freddie logo and deconstructed curves from the Means typeface,” he tells us, “so all the outlines, framing devices, transitions etc connect everything visually back to the logo, emphasising the importance of motion for Mailchimp due to the primarily screen-and-time-based nature of their communications. “Mailchimp's motion has to provide that same emotion that the rest of the brand assets contain,” Paone concludes, “with an added punch!”

Graphic & Motion Design

DIA Studio

Typography

Graphik and Means (bespoke) by Commercial Type

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