As the adoption of web3 and cryptocurrencies continues, the demand for experts in the spaces grows. Ispolink aims to close the gap between demand and supply for web3 tech talents. They offer a quick, simple, and secure transition into web3 for businesses and tech talents. Before teaming up with Gantz, they had a tremendous business model but a fragile brand strategy and identity. Solid branding and a strong visual identity would help trigger a wider adoption as the standard for web3 hiring, the go-to recruitment platform for web3 talents and companies.

To create a solid brand strategy it was crucial to find out what the basic business values of Ispolink are and how they can be communicated to potential customers. In multiple workshops with the Ispolink team, we developed the brand attributes, user personas and more, using proven design sprint methods and the CORE framework.
Based on the knowledge we gained in the process and in close cooperation with the team, we created a detailed brand strategy and brand messaging. We articulated a clear brand statement and a business vision, defined the core values of the brand, business goals and articulated them in a way their audience can easily understand them.

Based on the brand strategy and the brand messaging, we started to setup the visual language for Ispolink. We created multiple logo ideas, color palettes, selected fonts and much more. We also created mockups to show the identity design in action. How could a billboard look like? How does the logo look on a t-shirt? What would be a good layout for a business card? How does the app icon look? Giving some impressions of use cases like that is crucial to find a identity design that fits. While creating a consistent design system, it was especially important that it works for the two different user groups: Job Seekers and Reruiters.

As Ispolink provides a complex match making engine and a platform to source tech talents, creating a satisfying user experience was key for the success of the product. Connecting all aspects and features of the application and structuring the users workflow was crucial. Making complex and rich applications understandable and easy to use is always the goal to provide a great user experience to the customers. After structuring the user journey together with the team, we created a visual representation of the userflow to make clear how the user will navigate from point A to B. After that we visualized the basic structures and elements of the interface as wireframes: Simple representations of the interface which show the basic features. Do we need a button there? Or a checkbox here? Does the user interact with this element? Or is the information read only? Questions like this were answered in this step.

In this step the Identity Design and the User Experience did come together to form the aesthetic of the actual product and user interface. After defining what Ispolink is in it's core all about and what will be needed for a satisfying user experience, the visual appearance of the platform itself came into focus.What colors will be used for which kind of element of the UI? How will a button look like? What kind of icons will be suitable for what pupose? Sharp edges or rounded corners? And what does that communicate to the user? Does it fit the overall brand strategy and identity design? Does the UI serve the different user types properly?