Xodus branding
I was very lucky to collaborate with this client on their new brand. I had never had the opportunity to design in the automotive realm before. Xodus was setting out to “creating a seamless upgrade path of absolutely stunning truck solutions”. One question ( of many) I like to ask my clients before starting a branding project is “If the brand had a personality, what five traits would you use to describe it?”. The five words we landed on were: adventurous, warm hearted, laid-back, determined, and cool. I think we nailed it.
How we got where
we were going
After surveying the competitors, we knew where we wanted to land. Somewhere bold and memorable, but not overly complex. The challenge with the Xodus logo was how we could strike a balance between innovative and timeless. Tech forward and approachable. Modern and classic. These are a few of the early logo options that we liked bits and pieces of.
Making our mark
This is the final Xodus logo. One of my favorite elements is the motion throughout the mark. The roads created by the extended letters drives your eye around and through the design. It is a simple solution. I love how the typography does the heavy lifting in a clean and fluid way. The “X” had to be the hero, but the mark is well balanced. The favicon plays the role of a more symmetrical and succinct variation of our “X” hero.
Technology and the outdoors
Most of Xodus’s competitors were camping in palettes of primarily blues and reds. We knew what to avoid but weren’t sure what our color journey would look like. The colors needed to feel fresh and innovative, but also a little grounded and earthy. We wanted it to feel like one of our customers leaving the city after work for an evening in the mountains. Our primary “Pine” is a strong cool neutral. (Like our customers?) It plays well with the boldness of the tertiary colors.
The role of a typeface
When selecting typefaces for Xodus, we knew we wanted a solid graphic font for headlines, and then we wanted to balance that out with something approachable and familiar for body copy. The headlines needed to visually match the confidence of the brand’s tone. Rajdhani has just enough edge, and a tech-forward energy. We paired it with the subtle modern details of a more classic sans font, Noto Sans.
The elements
Because we were striving to maintain that balance between modern and classic, we didn’t want to drown out the effortlessness we had created in Xodus’s brand with excess frills. We kept the supporting design elements clean and easy to apply. Google’s material design icons are a familiar and consistent solution. We also came up with a heroic “X” pattern that can be applied to product parts, vehicle wraps, etc.
Applying Xodus
The web design portion of this project was just fun. I learned so much about what goes into a more technical PDP page. We distilled what could be an overwhelming amount of product information down into a digestible flow that is easy to navigate. I wanted the web design to reflect the technical expertise that their product delivers to their customers. We kept imagery large and headlines even larger, keeping things scannable but memorable. Like a fleeting sunset in the desert.
