NextView.vc
Overview
Nextview Ventures, a visionary seed venture capital firm, embraces a hands-on approach and focuses on thematic investments driven by technology, paving the way towards a brighter collective future. In response to their commitment to fostering innovation, Design Axl undertook the ambitious task of redesigning their website to resonate with the next generation of entrepreneurs, GenZ. We reimagined the website's aesthetics, user experience, photo art direction, and animated illustration, with the aim of creating a platform that embodies NextView Ventures' mission and connects seamlessly with its target audience.
My role
- Designing the visual language and prototyping the design
- Pitching designs and explorations to stakeholders
- Designing the digital and print marketing content
Design Team (Design Axl)
- Arjun Kumar (me) – Product designer & Motion lead
- James Grady – Creative Director
- Angela Lian – Art direction
Challenge
- NextView Ventures has a well-established brand identity and a legacy of successful investments. While the goal was to create a fresh and modern website for GenZ founders, it was crucial to strike a balance between preserving the firm's existing brand equity and infusing the platform with a forward-looking appeal.
- NextView Ventures offers a diverse range of services, investment focus areas, and portfolio information. Organizing this complex array of information into a coherent and easy-to-navigate structure demanded meticulous information architecture and intuitive UX design.
- Designing and implementing a new blog section that offers filters for various topics, themes, spotlights, and authors, while ensuring it serves as a comprehensive hub for the VC industry's latest updates and insights.
Proposed Solution
- We conducted a comprehensive rethinking of the site map for the website, resulting in a significantly improved navigational architecture that enhances the overall user experience. This user-centric approach simplifies exploration, making it easier for visitors to access relevant content, learn about NextView's services, explore portfolio companies, and engage with the blog section.
- Embraced a dynamic visual language with abstract shapes and bold colors to resonate with GenZ founders and create an engaging experience.
- Leveraging micro-animations we added depth and interactivity to the user experience, enhancing the website's overall appeal and leaving a lasting impression on the visitor.
Site Map
Through a meticulous rethinking of the site map, we achieved a significantly improved navigational architecture that ensures a seamless and intuitive user experience, enabling visitors to effortlessly find the information they need. By restructuring the website's content hierarchy and streamlining the navigation paths, users can now access relevant sections and resources more efficiently, reducing friction and enhancing overall engagement. This user-centric approach to site mapping not only simplifies the journey for GenZ founders but also optimizes the website's accessibility and discoverability, ultimately empowering NextView Ventures to connect more effectively with its target audience.
Through a meticulous rethinking of the site map, we achieved a significantly improved navigational architecture that ensures a seamless and intuitive user experience, enabling visitors to effortlessly find the information they need. By restructuring the website's content hierarchy and streamlining the navigation paths, users can now access relevant sections and resources more efficiently, reducing friction and enhancing overall engagement. This user-centric approach to site mapping not only simplifies the journey for GenZ founders but also optimizes the website's accessibility and discoverability, ultimately empowering NextView Ventures to connect more effectively with its target audience.
Sketching ideas and wireframes
During the NextView project, given the time constraints, we opted to move directly from sketching to creating greyscale high-fidelity prototypes. This approach proved beneficial as it allowed me to identify potential issues related to scale and information hierarchy within the design. By working in black and white, I could focus on the core layout and ensure that essential elements stood out prominently. Moreover, designing responsive mobile wireframes in this mode helped me to make informed decisions about which elements could be prioritized and which ones could take a secondary role due to limited screen space. This process ultimately contributed to crafting a user-friendly and visually cohesive website design for NextView Ventures.
During the NextView project, given the time constraints, we opted to move directly from sketching to creating greyscale high-fidelity prototypes. This approach proved beneficial as it allowed me to identify potential issues related to scale and information hierarchy within the design. By working in black and white, I could focus on the core layout and ensure that essential elements stood out prominently. Moreover, designing responsive mobile wireframes in this mode helped me to make informed decisions about which elements could be prioritized and which ones could take a secondary role due to limited screen space. This process ultimately contributed to crafting a user-friendly and visually cohesive website design for NextView Ventures.
Visual Design
The visual design approach for the NextView website merges tradition with modernity through a combination of serif and sans serif typefaces. Vibrant colors and dynamic motion create a captivating and engaging experience, appealing to GenZ founders. Thoughtful integration of abstract shapes adds a touch of avant-garde creativity, symbolizing innovation and limitless potential. Purposeful art direction for photography emphasizes inclusivity and authenticity, forging a strong connection with the audience. This cohesive design approach fosters a seamless and intuitive user experience, allowing visitors to easily find the information they need while reinforcing NextView Ventures' commitment to a brighter collective future powered by technology. The website's innovative and visually stimulating ambiance resonates profoundly with its target audience, capturing their imagination and positioning NextView Ventures as a visionary and approachable partner in the VC industry.
The visual design approach for the NextView website merges tradition with modernity through a combination of serif and sans serif typefaces. Vibrant colors and dynamic motion create a captivating and engaging experience, appealing to GenZ founders. Thoughtful integration of abstract shapes adds a touch of avant-garde creativity, symbolizing innovation and limitless potential. Purposeful art direction for photography emphasizes inclusivity and authenticity, forging a strong connection with the audience. This cohesive design approach fosters a seamless and intuitive user experience, allowing visitors to easily find the information they need while reinforcing NextView Ventures' commitment to a brighter collective future powered by technology. The website's innovative and visually stimulating ambiance resonates profoundly with its target audience, capturing their imagination and positioning NextView Ventures as a visionary and approachable partner in the VC industry.
Micro-animations and dynamic motion were integrated thoughtfully to enhance user engagement and interactivity. Micro-interactions, such as subtle hover effects and smooth transitions, enliven the user experience, adding a layer of playfulness and sophistication. These fluid animations guide users through their journey on the website, creating a seamless and enjoyable browsing experience. By incorporating dynamic motion, NextView Ventures' platform becomes an interactive and memorable digital space, resonating with GenZ founders who appreciate modern and visually captivating design.
Marketing Content
In addition to our work on the responsive website, we extended our assistance to NextView in translating the visual design system we crafted into various marketing assets. This included creating a captivating motion graphics video for social media marketing, effectively communicating the rebranding of NextView. The video served as an engaging tool to showcase the firm's new identity and reinforce its commitment to a brighter collective future through technology.
In addition to our work on the responsive website, we extended our assistance to NextView in translating the visual design system we crafted into various marketing assets. This included creating a captivating motion graphics video for social media marketing, effectively communicating the rebranding of NextView. The video served as an engaging tool to showcase the firm's new identity and reinforce its commitment to a brighter collective future through technology.
Moreover, we leveraged elements from the digital design system to design stationary, visiting cards, stickers, and t-shirts for NextView. By maintaining design consistency across these physical collateral, we ensured that NextView's brand identity remained cohesive and recognizable across different touchpoints. These marketing materials further bolstered NextView's brand presence, leaving a lasting impression on clients, investors, and partners alike.
Our seamless translation of the visual design system into marketing content highlighted the versatility and effectiveness of the original design. By creating a holistic branding experience, we not only amplified NextView's message but also empowered the firm to present a unified and professional image in the competitive venture capital landscape.
Lessons learned
- Learned the importance of building a design system that seamlessly adapts across both print and digital platforms. Developing a cohesive visual identity that can be easily translated into various marketing assets, such as stationary, visiting cards, stickers, and motion graphics for social media, proved to be instrumental in maintaining brand consistency and recognition.
- As part of the NextView project, I gained valuable insights into integrating motion seamlessly within the website. Leveraging Lottie files, I learned to craft engaging micro-animations that enhanced the user experience and brought the design to life. Collaborating closely with developers to implement these animations successfully underscored the importance of effective communication and teamwork between design and development teams.
- Throughout the NextView project, I embraced the iterative design approach and recognized its transformative impact on the final product. Regularly seeking feedback from stakeholders, team members, and potential users allowed me to iterate on design concepts, identify areas for improvement, and address user pain points effectively.