Category: Print

Sales Collateral: Cobalt Robotics

Sales Collateral for Cobalt Robotics

Cobalt Robotics is a security service powered by robots and human Robot Specialists working together. It’s a new way of using robots and a dramatically new way of doing security.

Since the company’s launch:

sales journey snippet
  • We’ve learned more about how to educate customers about Cobalt’s services.
  • We’ve introduced many new and improved features.
  • The sales journey is much better understood, but very long, requiring continuous touchpoints that evolve along with the relationship.

Our sales team provided us with a deep dive into the sales journey so that we could identify needed collateral to introduce our service, detail our features, and answer common questions—all in a visually cohesive set of materials.

By conducting interviews with engineers, account managers, and existing Cobalt customers, I worked with the head of product and the marketing team to compose stories that were both technically informative and emotionally captivating.

Service robots, and cobots (robots that work closely with people) in particular, are so new that a huge part of the work is educating our audience. Every marketing project is an opportunity to collect more feedback, and for the brand to evolve along with our customers.

Isometric illustration: the Cobalt Robot

Exhibit Design: DSI International

DSI International is a pioneering diagnostics technology company that serves clients including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and NASA. Their products are necessarily complex, tailored for trained engineering professionals, but a conference booth has seconds to attract attendees with a strong message and fresh visuals.

I studied the products and then distilled their essential value to users with my hard-hitting copy and visuals. They responded very positively to both, and decided on the design shown here (the runner up is below).

Exhibit design by Penina S Finger

Runner-up booth design:

Favly, Inc. Brand

When I began at Favly, makers of a new social referral app, there was already a first-round website, a nearly-complete iOS version of the app, and a logo. While there was a rough styleguide, the logo and its uses had evolved since it was created. All resources were now focused on the iOS launch.

For more details about my product design work for this company, see Favly, Inc. Product.

Brand Discovery

To create a system, a coherent visual identity, and to begin delivering materials that would best serve our goals, I began with a brand discovery process, and spoke with each founder to get a feel for their vision. The resulting document—The Favly Story—was not only a valuable resource for myself and new hires, but was added to the fundraising arsenal.

Brand Discovery Document for Favly, Inc. created by Penina S. Finger

Styleguide

Once I had confirmation from management that The Favly Story reflected the company’s principles and vision, I began the first draft of the styleguide. This was a more conventional document, but I used excerpts from the Story to reinforce the reasoning behind various style rules, such as the use of gradients and copy tone.

Multi-platform Design

With the beginnings of a system in place, my design team revisited the company’s marketing materials and landing pages, as well as the product itself. In print, on the web and in mobile app environments, we generated visuals that are a dynamic balance of consistency and vitality.

Other fundraising support included a deep overhaul of the slide presentation to reflect the app’s core ideas with greater clarity and professionalism.

Email design and notification strategy

One of my most challenging projects was working closely with the Director of Marketing, the planning and implementation of about fifty emails. Most of these were critical moving parts of the product, and an indispensable step in earning new users to grow our traction. Tight on resources, I designed a simple base template and commandeered wall space to map and track the emails. We co-planned, co-wrote, and co-strategized every piece with the intent to maximize the potential of these touchpoints.

Fashion Takeaway/Calling Cards

Tight deadline, small (but beautiful) collection of photos (by Kevin Weinstein). What could we pull together for a showing—in six days—and really make the most of Staci’s outstanding attention to detail?

Design for print for Staci Koondel, by Penina

Instead of trying to squeeze it all onto one card, we decided to create a set of three. Interested buyers could take a favorite, or more.

Design for print for Staci Koondel, by Penina

For speed, it was going to have to be a digital press. We’re thankful for E&T Graphics Los Angeles, who had it printed, beautifully trimmed, and ready for pickup in a day.

Design for print for Staci Koondel, by Penina

Community Identity

No surprise (to me) that our corner of the world was among those designated by Mayor Eric Garcetti to be a Los Angeles Great Street.

As a member of the Pico Great Street Collaborative and the PGSC Urban Design Committee, I’m drawing from the neighborhood’s diverse social and architectural identity and contributing design input to facets including signage, infographics and grant applications.

My strategy has been to first lock on to the existing Great Streets visual identity, and then gradually evolve that toward reflecting Pico’s unique qualities. This allows the initiative to leverage public recognition as support and funding are developed, and more importantly, to listen carefully: it’s both our pride and our challenge to be one of Los Angeles’ most culturally and racially diverse communities.

The infographic below was adapted for use as a poster in participating shops, as an online outreach tool, and as a supporting document in grant applications.

Infographic by Penina S. Finger

Because this is a volunteer project, I am delivering assets as the need arises, rather than as a pre-packaged system. All the better to allow a complex identity and its future vision to be discovered, defined and redefined over time.

Schematic neighborhood map illustration by Penina S Finger

Surface Design: Home Decor

surface design - pillow pattern range

Wide and experimental pattern range for interior design client, Christel Ferguson.

I developed patterns, exploring a variety of styles that ranged from hand-drawn and loose to traditional and quite rigid. We explored trend colors as well as Christel’s own particular tastes, and researched fabrication options that included both hand-embroidered and the latest print-on-demand technologies.

Geometric Sea
Geometric Sea Pattern by Penina S Finger

Simple Floral
Simple Foral pattern motif by Penina S Finger

Long Ivy & Stripe
Long Ivy and Stripe pattern for home decor by Penina S Finger