Case Study: Seekr Color Studies
Injecting Vibrance into Visual Language
Four weeks ago, five of us embarked on a journey to change the way people travel. We founded Seekr, an experience-driven travel platform that connects adventurous travelers with local knowledge.
Thus far, we’ve conducted tons of research, built a couple of prototypes, and launched version zero of seekr.is. At this point, as the team’s lead in visual design, I have the exciting opportunity to flesh out the platform’s visual identity.
The current identity is a good starting point. We have an identifying mark that works across language barriers, and a type strategy that enables cross-cultural communication. What we are missing is vibrance.
Why Vibrance
Between the five members of our team, we have visited over sixty countries, and a major motivation for us to build out the Seekr platform is to enable others to share the same types of cultural experiences we’ve been lucky enough to experience.
The idea of a vibrant visual identity flows from these experiences. Culture is vibrant, and so the Seekr brand must communicate vibrance.
Exploration
Yesterday, I set out to explore the question of how we might add vibrance to the Seekr brand. This case study represents a single approach, one among many that will be explored before reaching a set conclusion.
In this exploration, I focused on how we can communicate the Seekr brand in as few pieces as possible: a single phrase that states one of our brand values, a photograph, and the Seekr logo.
This felt like a good start, but not quite resolved to a point that felt distinctive. In addition, the use of type on image can be tricky in responsive digital environments. For these reasons, the background image needs some work.
Source Material
I pulled source material from unsplash.com and isorepublic.com to get started. In selecting the material, I focused on images that portray a sense of wonder and whimsy, looking closely at the interactions of color within the images.
Pulling each image into Photoshop, I began to look at how the color interactions could be broken down into useful references of both the building blocks of each, and the proportion of them within the composition.
The mosaic filter proved to be effective at breaking these images down into constituent pieces. I also added a curves and a brightness adjustment layer to make on-the-fly tweaks.
The next step was to select more source material from the same sources. In this case, however, I’m looking more for human-centric photos: images of people sharing the same space or engaged in activities.
These photos will serve as the backdrops for the rest of the exploration. They illustrate what Seekr is about: enabling humans to find meaningful experiences by connecting with the world around them.
Mapping Technique
To combine the whimsical feel of the first set of source material with the subjects of the second set, I explored two mapping techniques: gradient maps and gradient overlays.
The overlays were created using the mosaic images and adjustment layers to pull color values into individual swatches. The swatches were then rearranged into new adjustments that go on top of the subject images.
To finish things off, I paired each image with a concise statement of Seekr’s brand values.
The Results
The final pieces don’t serve a specific purpose, aside from embodying the results of this approach.
Move Fast & Iterate
A couple of hours in, the final images serve as a quick-and-dirty exploration of the vibrance concept. By no means are they “finished work,” rather a useful waypoint in the branding process.
Seekr is an experience-driven travel platform that bridges the gap between adventurous travelers and local knowledge.
Visit seekr.is for more information.
