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Lookback

Lookback is a software platform that enables businesses to better understand their customers through qualitative interviews and usability testing.

After finding success in the user experience research space, Lookback was ready to expand its reach to all forms of customer insights.

Baseline Evaluation

We began with an eval­u­a­tion of Look­back as a com­pa­ny: its audi­ence, com­peti­tors, dif­fer­en­tia­tors, and more. By bet­ter under­stand­ing the indus­try land­scape and the future Look­back envi­sioned, we were able to iden­ti­fy visu­al oppor­tu­ni­ties to help the brand achieve its goals. 

We worked with their team to set­tle on three attrib­ut­es for the Look­back brand: Intu­itive, Hum­ble, and Approach­able. The eval­u­a­tion, paired with the attrib­ut­es, informed the three direc­tions pre­sent­ed in the first round of ideation. We knew indus­try clich­és to avoid, oppor­tu­ni­ties to explore, and ele­ments to recommend.

Lookback attributes

First Round of Ideation

Three con­cep­tu­al direc­tions were pre­sent­ed: Dynam­ic,” Bridg­ing Dig­i­tal & Human,” and Friend to Discoverability.”

Dynam­ic” spoke to the iter­a­tive process of user research, sur­fac­ing the right insights (usu­al­ly between the lines) to build use­ful prod­ucts. The geo­met­ric mark pre­sent­ed in this option paired with a col­or com­bi­na­tion showed Look­back was dialed in, intel­li­gent, and intu­itive. Bridg­ing Dig­i­tal & Human” used a mixed sans-ser­if/serif logo­type to set a dig­i­tal tone and con­vey the human spir­it. Final­ly, Friend to Dis­cov­er­abil­i­ty” evoked curios­i­ty in an approach­able way through its play­ful logo­type and col­or palette; dis­cov­er­abil­i­ty makes a prod­uct great and doing the work of user research takes curios­i­ty and ambition.

Lookback r2 grid
LOOKBACK trio r1

This direction — titled “Dynamic” — speaks to the iterative process of user research to feel dialed in, intelligent, and intuitive.

Lookback opt245
Lookback metro

The Refinement Process

After the Look­back team chose their pre­ferred direc­tion — Bridg­ing Dig­i­tal & Human” — we began refin­ing that direc­tion and build­ing out the visu­al lan­guage. We explored typog­ra­phy, col­or palettes, and pho­to styles over the fol­low­ing weeks. As the visu­al iden­ti­ty took shape, we applied it to dif­fer­ent instances and medi­ums, test­ing the bound­aries of the new iden­ti­ty.

The Look­back word­mark focus­es on the busi­ness name for brand recog­ni­tion. The pair­ing of a serif and sans-serif type­face embod­ies the Look­back mis­sion to bridge human and dig­i­tal.

The brand type­face, Newzald, is a well-bal­anced serif intend­ed to feel human and sin­cere. The sec­ondary type­face, Inter, sup­ports Newzald with­out being over­pow­er­ing, and Inter offers robust options for typo­graph­ic glyphs to cre­ate dig­i­tal expe­ri­ences across mul­ti­ple languages.

Lookback markexplo
Lookback r2 pivotal
Lookback r2 wordmark
Lookback r2 2600

Brand Style Guidelines

Final­ly, the Look­back team received their Brand Style Guide­lines. The guide­lines includ all the ele­ments need­ed — logos, type­faces, col­ors, and more — to cre­ate a con­sis­tent tone, look, and feel for Look­back­’s mate­ri­als. Guide­lines ensure visu­al con­sis­ten­cy and pro­vide a clear­ly com­mu­ni­cat­ed frame­work for brand appli­ca­tion as Look­back grows.

The final logo­mark takes ele­ments from the refine­ment phase and push­es those ideas fur­ther with a light­bulb. It builds on Look­back’s attrib­ut­es and rep­re­sents that​“light­bulb moment” so com­mon after user research. 

Look­back­’s pho­tog­ra­phy style is nat­ur­al but curat­ed. It care­ful­ly cap­tures peo­ple and envi­ron­ments in a nat­ur­al set­ting with min­i­mal edit­ing. The authen­tic pho­tog­ra­phy style works to build trust and approachability.

Lookback final
Lookback bizcard
Lookback guidelines 0001 serif
Lookback guidelines 0000 sans
Lookback guidelinesgrid
Lookback displayads
Lookback guidelines 0003 palette
Lookback billboard
This project felt like a true collaboration and we've enjoyed both the process and the output. I especially want to thank the team for taking us on in a lean fashion. [...] Fantastic results.
Craig James, CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER, LOOKBACK
We’d love to hear about your brand and business challenges, even if you’re not sure what your next step is. No pitch, no strings attached.