After gathering the client's perspectives on brand personality, I collected visual references to create comparative mood boards. These were used during user interviews to better understand how potential users perceived busk.town's new direction.
Nov 2023 - Sep 2024
Client project: End-to-end UX/UI and branding redesign
busk.town is a platform that empowers musicians, singers, and bands by providing tools for accurate chord viewing, seamless setlist management, and real-time collaboration to enhance live performances. I was tasked with creating a new brand identity along with a set of brand collateral and redesigning the platform’s UX/UI.
Visit the site (in development):
busk.town
Full UX/UI process:
busk.town UX/UI
The product
busk.town is a platform that empowers musicians, singers, and bands by providing tools for accurate chord viewing, seamless setlist management, and real-time collaboration to enhance live performances.
The problem
busk.town was created by a group of passionate musicians who also took on development roles. Without a designer's involvement from the start, the platform lacked a cohesive brand identity that could effectively communicate its values and vision.
The goal
To prepare busk.town for growth by refining its brand identity to align with the client's new vision. This included enhancing usability, and creating a seamless experience for new features, all while maintaining consistency across the updated interfaces.
Concept Research & User Interviews
Despite an almost 50/50 in preferences, I identified key elements from both options that resonated with users and aligned with the defined brand personality, creating a foundation for further development.
Two mood boards used during user interviews.
Visualising Brand Personality
I translated busk.town's new key personalities; modern, simple, unique, friendly, and earnest, into a comprehensive visual system. In each draft, rather than focusing solely on logo design, I developed how visual elements work together to better communicate a cohesive and practical brand identity to clients.
Brand identity design evolution from initial concepts to final drafts.
Establishing Design Foundations in Parallel
I approached typography and colour selection to serve both brand expression and digital platform needs simultaneously, ensuring they work effectively across all touchpoints.
The previous Thai typeface used a loopless style, which despite its modern appearance, compromised readability in text-heavy platforms like busk.town. I chose a modern loop typeface that balances contemporary aesthetics with improved legibility.
For the colour palette, I selected orange for its ability to effectively highlight key elements across both light and dark backgrounds, all pass accessibility standards. Multiple shades were developed to maintain strong contrast ratios throughout the interface.
Creating Brand Guidelines
The final identity system incorporates musical symbols in the logo and staff lines as key graphic elements. I compiled all design decisions into comprehensive brand guidelines, detailing logo usage, colour applications, typography rules, graphic elements, and photography direction, with examples across digital and physical applications.
Brand guideline page examples.
Bringing the Guidelines to Life
I translated the brand identity into practical applications:
Digital Marketing: Social media templates, presentation decks, and a form cover image that showcase the brand outside the platform.
Physical Touchpoints: Business cards, posters, song request cards, letterhead, and branded apparel that extend the musical identity into tangible interactions.
Integrating with Digital Experience
The brand identity was seamlessly incorporated into the platform's design system, establishing consistent visual language across interfaces while supporting the enhanced user experience.
Genre card illustrations.
Responsive landing page hero section across devices.
Finally, I created this file directory to ensure smooth handoff.
