My Role:

Lead UX/UI Designer

Timeline:

4 Weeks

Tools Used:

Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Figma

Goal:
Redesign logo/branding and update the app layout for a seamless and easy to understand user experience.

My Contributions:

The Mint app’s initial design, while visually appealing and user-friendly in many aspects, suffered from information overload that hindered user navigation and overall experience. Recognizing that an excess of options can deter continued app usage, I developed a strategy to streamline the layout, prioritizing clarity and simplicity.

In developing the lo-fi wireframe, I carefully selected elements of the design to enhance and refine while eliminating those that could hinder the user experience. I incorporated a splash screen, along with “Continue” and “Checkout” buttons at the bottom when suitable, a simplified footer, and a login screen. This approach provides users with a glimpse of the app’s value, encouraging them to invest more time in exploring its features.

This logo was initially designed to represent the brand of the app before I joined. After extensive discussions in our team meetings, we collectively decided that naming the company ‘Mint’ could lead to confusion among users.

We each took the initiative to create individual logo designs for the app that would effectively communicate Mint’s offerings to customers. My concept involved retaining the original logo, incorporating a mint leaf as the dot over the “I,” and adding the word “Produce” beneath it. Ultimately, we opted not to use the Mint branding at all and decided to come up with a new name.

Given that Mint is a well-known financial planning app and mobile phone service, I started brainstorming a new name and logo for the app: Root. The quick design sketches presented here illustrate my efforts to integrate fruits or vegetables into the logo, maintaining a connection to the theme of produce.

The color palette was visually appealing and effectively complemented the farm and produce theme. I chose to refresh some hues and introduce an additional color, aligning it with the app’s new logo.

After several days of refinement and thorough feedback from the team, I decided to finalize this as the new app logo. I also included the tagline “fresh. produce. delivered.”, which effectively communicates the app’s purpose both individually and collectively.

Integrating the new color palette into the layout design makes it feel more streamlined and user-friendly.

Above is a view of both original (left) and updated (right) layouts for the rebranded Root app.

Challenges

During my time at the startup initially known as Mint (later rebranded as Root), the design team and I encountered several challenges in our rebranding efforts. Our creative ambitions aligned on the need for a significant brand overhaul, but we faced resistance from company ownership.

The primary hurdle was convincing the owners of the necessity and benefits of rebranding. We had to clearly articulate the issues and confusion caused by retaining the Mint name, as well as the potential advantages of a fresh identity.This process involved numerous meetings and presentations to gain their buy-in. Once we secured approval to explore a new name, the implementation phase presented its own set of obstacles.

What I Learned

The months spent working to develop this app has honed my ability to effectively communicate strategic ideas to senior leadership. I learned to present concepts I believed would drive long-term company success, approaching discussions with respect and openness even when faced with resistance. This experience taught me to gracefully accept when my proposals or approaches were not adopted by the majority.

Additionally, I refined my leadership capabilities by guiding a team in developing user-friendly UI, logos, and branding elements. This role allowed me to cultivate a collaborative environment that fostered creativity and innovation while maintaining alignment with company objectives.