Revamping Novel Branding, Website & Marketing
At Novel, I worked within the Brand and Marketing team to refresh the fintech’s market positioning, transforming their image from a traditional lender to a trusted partner in capital strategy.
Novel specializes in providing non-dilutive funding to early-stage B2B tech and SaaS founders. As part of this repositioning, the company dropped "Capital" from their original name, signaling a shift in focus.
Date
2023 - 2024
Category
Graphic Design | Illustration | Branding Web Design | Visual System
Digital Marketing
Tools
Figma | Adobe Photoshop | Adobe Illustrator | Hubspot
Unbounce | Wordpress (Elementor)
Goal: To Reposition Novel as a Trusted Partner in Revenue-Based Financing Space
While redesigning the visual system, my goal was to reinforce this new identity by humanizing the brand. I introduced vibrant illustrations, human-centric imagery, and sleek line iconography to emphasize the company’s empathetic and collaborative approach. This evolution moved Novel away from a cold, tech-driven aesthetic toward a more holistic brand image—one that highlights not only their role in facilitating cash flow but also their strategic partnership in helping founders achieve their long-term goals.
Challenge: Crafting a Visual Identity that Balances Security and Trust with Warmth and Approachability
Novel sought to reimagine its brand guidelines to establish a dynamic visual system that aligned with its new identity and effectively communicated the value of its products to early-stage founders. These founders often face challenges and limitations when dealing with traditional banks or venture capital, but Novel's flexible, revenue-based financing offers a simpler and more accessible alternative.
My goal was to highlight Novel's transparent and data-driven process, while also emphasizing the human support system that guides founders through their funding journey. I aimed to create a visual language that evokes security and trust without resorting to a sterile or clinical look. The core message was that every founder’s journey is unique, and with Novel, they can accelerate their growth while overcoming traditional financing barriers.
Brand Personality
My creative approach was guided by Novel's core message: focusing on the founder's journey. I began by exploring brand patterns and experimenting with graphical elements, using the anatomy of the Novel logo mark "N" as a foundation. By deconstructing and rearranging parts of the "N," I created a forward-moving, accelerated path, symbolizing growth and progress. This design element was versatile, functioning as both a framing device for images and a dynamic background for other visual elements.
I also repeated the forward-angled stroke of the "N" vertically, tweaking it to subtly resemble a lightning bolt—an icon of speed and momentum, perfectly aligning with the idea of founders accelerating their growth through Novel. This concept became the backbone of the visual system, seamlessly integrating illustrations and imagery.
Icons & Illustrations
The icon library is stylized to reflect the brand personality in both dark and light mode applications to support text and visually represent complex content. I used line icons to reflect the simplicity and clarity of working with Novel, emphasizing the company's user-friendly and transparent approach. The clean, minimal design of the icons conveyed straightforwardness, making complex ideas like revenue-based financing and capital strategy feel accessible and easy to navigate.
I balanced the simplicity of the line icons with vibrant, bold illustrations that capture the energy and ambition of founders striving for growth and acceleration. The minimalist line icons brought clarity and ease to the visual system, while the brighter, dynamic illustrations added a layer of inspiration and creativity, symbolizing the founders’ unique paths to success.
Spot Illustrations
OOH & Brand Merchandise
Website
The revamped website repositions Novel not just as capital lenders for B2B SaaS and tech founders, but as true partners in the founder's journey. I introduced a new Platform page, dedicated to the Capital Intelligence™ hub that Novel plans to launch, with several products already in beta. By enhancing the visuals and refining the narrative around the platform’s offerings, I helped communicate its value more effectively. As a result, Novel experienced higher conversion rates and a notable increase in customer leads, driven by the improved user experience and clearer messaging.
Paid Ads
One Pagers
For Novel, I designed a series of one-pagers that succinctly communicated the company's unique value propositions and product offerings to early-stage B2B tech and SaaS founders. These one-pagers were intended to be both visually compelling and informative, balancing concise copy with visuals to engage the audience quickly and effectively.
E-mail Marketing
Landing Pages
