BRAND LEADERSHIP:
BOB AI ECOSYSTEM
Establishing strategic connections and relevance between Product UI and Master Brand programs.
Role: Brand Advocate, Cross-Functional Co-Design Lead, Strategist Timeframe: 4 Months
Impact: Protecting Brand Identity During Product Launch
The Product Design team introduced the new AI Companion feature utilizing a generic color palette that was visually disconnected from the HiBob brand. This created a high-stakes risk of brand dilution at a critical, visible product touchpoint, making the feature indistinguishable from competitors. Our goal was to strategically intervene and protect the visual integrity of the HiBob brand within the platform.
Goals:
Strategic Intervention​: Assert the Brand Team's role in the product development cycle to protect long-term visual equity.
Market Differentiation: Move away from generic, "off-the-shelf" AI aesthetics to create a look that is uniquely and identifiably HiBob.
Visual Cohesion: Eliminate the gap between the marketing narrative and the product experience, ensuring a seamless journey for the user.
THE STRATEGIC PROBLEM: PROTECTING BRAND IDENTITY
THE SOLUTION: STRATEGIC ADVOCACY & CO-DESIGN
I led the brand initiative by successfully shifting the conversation from a design preference to a strategic brand decision—securing the Brand Team's role in the system design.
Strategic Intervention: I developed and presented a detailed Advocacy Deck to the Product team, using brand strategy and competitive analysis to articulate the business risk of the initial generic palette.
Cross-Functional Co-Design: We successfully gained approval for the Brand Team to lead the color exploration. We then collaborated closely with Product Design stakeholders, iterating to create the 4-color 'SUNRISE' palette.
Resulting System: The final palette is deeply rooted in the HiBob visual language and functionally accessible within the product interface.
FROM PRODUCT UI TO
THE BRAND ECOSYSTEM
This project established a visual foundation that allowed the brand to scale at lightning speed. The "Sunrise" palette didn't just stay in the product; it became the visual DNA for the entire AI Mind program.
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From Internal to Public-Facing: AI Mind evolved from an internal innovation hub into a powerful public-facing program, driving thought leadership across the HR tech industry.
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The "Visual DNA" for Future Scale: Using the "Sunrise" palette from the product, I created a mini-brand for AI Mind that is now the official standard for all upcoming AI initiatives.
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Brand-Product Synergy: We achieved a "New AI Feel" that is cohesive across the entire journey—from marketing assets to the growing "AI Mind" program and the final product UI.
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Master Brand Alignment: he system feels future-forward and innovative, yet it remains anchored to the HiBob Master Brand, ensuring we never lose our visual DNA as we scale.
IMPACT, RESULTS & BRAND EVOLUTION
Strategic Brand Governance
Protected brand integrity during
a high-stakes launch by shifting the dialogue to strategic brand decisions, establishing the Brand Team as a
vital partner in the product
development lifecycle.
Future-Proof Scalability
Built a robust Visual DNA (Color Palette) that scaled from a single UI feature to the full AI Mind program, creating the official visual standard for
all future AI initiatives in HiBob.
Unified & Differentiated Identity
Created a warm, human
"New AI Feel" that differentiates HiBob from "tech-blue" competitors while remaining seamlessly anchored to the Master Brand across all touchpoints.
