Leveraging Generative AI and Interactive Experiences to Rebrand Aleph Site

Visit Aleph.dev
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Context

Timeline
1 year, launched on Jan 2024 (intermittently between client projects)
Contributors
Sony Maharjan (Designer)
Jason Herring (Design Director)
Matt Glaser (Engineer, Founder)
Mia Sommese (Project Manager)
Amanda Tusing (Senior Engineer)
Conrad Seto (Engineer)
Responsibilities
Strategy
Concept development
Design system
Generative AI
UX/UI
Visual Design
Aleph.dev showcases the design and creative coding that Aleph team engages in, and the myriad opportunities to work with generative AI as both a powerful workflow tool and a source of inspiration.
In 2023, during a hiatus from client projects, the Aleph design team (my design director and I) initiated a project to elevate the brand and redesign the Aleph website. I spearheaded (with the supervision of my design director, Jason Herring) the design process from conceptualization to interactive prototyping and the delivery of finalized assets and established a comprehensive design system.

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Impact

Key Objectives
To establish a strong Aleph's online presence, bolster credibility, and showcase Aleph services' legitimacy.
User Needs
Consistent pricing, design processes and updated portfolio.
Initiative Ideas
A well-defined brand to set Aleph apart from competition and reach across various channels.

The revamped site now has a more appealing visual style, professionalism and credibility compared to before. As part of our marketing strategy, we decided to enhance the brand's presence on LinkedIn and Instagram. Since the launch, we've seen a significant increase in LinkedIn followers by 200% and a notable 17.6% rise in new unique website visitors.

Research & Analysis + Information Architecture (Week 1-3)
Aligning the Vision
To foster alignment within the Aleph team, particularly with the founder/CEO, Matt Glaser, we organized a series of engaging in-person and online meetings. These sessions focused on discussing personas, sitemaps, conducting comparative analysis, and drawing inspiration from similar agencies offering comparable services.
The Aleph team includes designers, engineers and a project manager.
We organized in-person whiteboard ideation and synthesis sessions as part of Aleph's brand strategy. These sessions were instrumental in uncovering our collective aspirations and attributes.
Conducted a comprehensive documentation of user personas reflecting their goals and challenges with the Aleph team.
This asynchronous design exercise served as a means to delve into the aesthetic preferences of two designers, allowing us to articulate our rationales behind our creative decisions.
Documented a sitemap for the previous version of Aleph.dev to analyze its navigation structure and the types of content. The former site primarily relied on many hypertext links within blog content to direct users to different major pages.

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DESIGN

Week 4-7
Jorge Luis Borges: Inspiring Aleph's Philosophy
We explored the philosophical roots of Aleph's brand by studying the works of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. His idea that 'The Aleph is a lens for viewing the world from many angles, without distortion' resonated with Aleph's ethos. This philosophy shapes Aleph's approach, emphasizing diverse perspectives in client interactions and projects.
Experimented with Generative AI and texture to create a portrait of Jorge Luis Borges that captures the spirit of the Aleph brand.
Drawing on Borgesian principles, we curated visual inspiration, aligned typography and colors, and developed concepts that reflected our team's vision.
The predetermined brand attributes guided us in defining the inspiration/mood board for our visual concepts.
Refreshed the Aleph.dev brand by updating the logo, color palette, and typography to align with the brand attributes, resulting in a more accessible look and feel.
Explored various conceptual design directions, including vector illustrations, creative coding, and generative AI, ensuring alignment with the updated brand guidelines.
Crafted a dynamic system for each client's unique hero collage, seamlessly blending layers of generative AI images, typography, and colors.
Coffee-line illustrations on the homepage metaphorically capture Aleph's story and brand attributes through a Borgesian lens.
The Initial concept development prototype for the home hero image. The idea is to convey "We see the point" visually.

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DEVELOPMENT

Week 8-12
Animating the Visual Realm
We conducted regular design meetings with the development team to ensure that our designs, especially the interactive prototypes were practical and easily implementable.
* More development process coming soon.
The Aleph team sees the point. The Hero section of Aleph.dev visually represents the Aleph team's commitment to understanding and agreeing with the client's perspective.
Each client page's hero images has multiple layers to add motion and vitality to static images, effectively narrating Aleph's relation with clients.

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Retrospect

While it's still early to fully assess the impact of the Aleph.dev website redesign, the team's expectations “if we build it , it will come” regarding new client acquisition was unrealistic. We understand that a new brand and website alone don't guarantee new client acquisitions. We recognize the importance of strategic marketing and outreach efforts to sustain our operations effectively.

sonymaharjandesign@gmail.com

Always down to collaborate in interesting projects when I have the time. Let's get in touch!

© 2024 Sony Maharjan
ContextImpactDiscoverydesigndevelopmentRetrospect