As the saying goes: “Branding development begins at home.”
Isn’t it a saying? Well, in our case it is, and we respect it to the letter!
Dorve is our main company. I mean, it predates Brandelk.
Dorve started out as the continuation of our original studio, Mozlo Design. Mozlo was a long-lived and successful design agency, with an ever-growing development side.
However, as the company evolved, and we ourselves evolved and acquired new knowledge, experiences and skills, being a design agency no longer represented us. Even if we added the side of a web development agency, it was not enough.
Our projects spanned a large number of skills and specialties. In addition to web design, we did app design, SEO, marketing campaigns, custom systems development and much more.
But more importantly: since 2008 we began to deepen in UX, which led us to develop more and more projects in that area. And since we know very well that UX is not UI, and much less Web Design, Mozlo became a restriction.
To be clear: not that it restricted the growth of our business. It was obviously not like that.
But the problem we had is that we couldn’t show the user experience (UX) work that we actually did. This work, contrary to what many think (even designers) is completely different from web design. Or, for that matter, systems development, or marketing, or SEO, or growth hacking or whatever. UX includes all these disciplines and many more!
It is for these reasons that we decided to create a brand from scratch, and develop it so that our clients could see our work and UX services in its entirety.
Branding = Business Growth. Period.
The branding process for Dorve was very extensive. Partly because we wanted it to be exactly what we wanted, and we had thousands of ideas. Partly because we had a lot of work. And finally, we had an existing portfolio. So we didn’t have time pressure.
But on the other hand, the different visual identities that we created for Dorve did not convince us. They were very good and surely worked for many brands. In fact, the different tests with users showed that the testers approved the 3 visual identities prior to the final one. Yes, you read that right: we had three logos before reaching the final one! (OCD anyone?)
In order not to delve into the reasons to ditch the logos mentioned above, let’s say we simply believed that something was missing. All three were missing something that we considered fundamental as a concept: fluidity. They had strength (perhaps too much), they had visual recognition, they had pregnancy. But they weren’t fluent. And fluidity is Dorve’s core concept.
Finally we found thedefinitve logo. As soon as we saw it finished, it was clear that it was the winner, without a doubt. Still, out of curiosity, we tested it with users. The result was unappealable: out of 22 people who participated in the focus group, 14 expressed that it was the best. A 63% preference percentage between 4 options is something rarely seen in UX. And we do user research every day, so we know when a result is very good!
Construction and conceptualization of the logo
As we said above, the logo expresses the main concept of our company: fluidity. This fluidity is manifested in the multiplicity of forms that our work takes on different projects. But it is also the core of a new UX concept developed by our CEO Fabio Devin, that deals with the multidimensionality of experiences, and fluidity in adaptation and convergence of these dimensions. Book is soon to be published (therefore the title is still secret 😉 )
The conceptualization above is represented by the curvy shapes that grow from the center while remaining connected (to provide the idea of multi-shaped nodes and connectors). But it also represents the following:
- D letter (proper orientation and reverse orientation, in the negative space in the horizontal axis)
- U letter (proper orientation and reverse orientation, in the negative space in the vertical axis)
- X letter (the main shape)
Or, in other words: the initials for Dorve User Experience.
But there’s more! If you take the different parts of the main shape, you can create “gooey letters” that form the word Dorve.
Brand Colors
The colors we chose are directly related to the same brand conceptualization mentioned above. We use gradients to communicate the idea of change and motion.
However, there is another hidden meaning: if you pay attention to the gradient, you will see that it begins in the lower left with green, then goes to light blue (which when combined with green forms the color turquoise) and ends with violet.
This is not a random occurrence.
Rather, it represents the earth, sky, and outer space, on a left-to-right tilt, bottom to top. In other words: the path that a spacecraft would take from Earth.
Branding Development
We designed our own site based on our own UX theoretical framework on fluid and “shapeless” user experiences. This theoretical framework is based on research on present and past conditions in multidimensional environments, considering intercultural, accessible and inclusive experiences, as well as multiple experiences based on fluid devices (AR, AI, IoT). This design reflects this multiplicity and fluidity while showing our skills, clients and past experiences in a creative and playful manner not exempt from a more artistic vision.
Now, all brands require a visual identity that identifies themselves. That is: we had a very strong theoretical foundation (probably stronger than most brands). However, just a logo with a strong theoretical foundation is not enough. A brand is much more than that. Moreover, this wasn’t properly a brand creation, but a whole rebranding.
And what did we want to transmit as values of our brand?
Fluidity. Playfulness. Vibrant, vivid colors. Motion. Creation. And of course, information.
So, we started the branding development with just a logo using the concepts above. Now it’s the turn for every other component of the brand. We designed the UI for Dorve with these same concepts in mind.
If you visit the site, you’ll see shapes created “on the fly” that transform themselves into something else, changing shape as well as color, based on time and space translation. Now that’s what we call advanced UX theory applied to User Interfaces!
You can see some captures of Dorve’s User Interface (UI) below:
Branding development is what we do and what we love
By now, I think you already know the passion we have for branding development. And the effort we put in creating whole strategies that give your brand a spirit and a essence, based on a lot of thought, lots of theory and lots of experience. Simply put, we think your brand should go further away than what any other designer could promise.
We’re convinced brnading development is not just a logo. Not just a visual identity. Not just a user interface. It’s all this and the strategies, the marketing, the brand voice, the tactics to grow. It’s results. Not only in terms of what your clients will like (we can GUARANTEE that). But also in terms of ROI (Return of Investment).
Do you think the same as us? Then let’s talk! We can take your brand to the next level!
