Crafting Achieve's illustration system from the ground up
Role: Lead Designer & Illustrator | Company: Achieve | Project Scope: XL
With the introduction of Achieve's rebrand, it became apparent that a key part of the brand's visual language was missing—illustrations. Creative teams across the company were using stock illustrations and coming up with their own imagery to use throughout all of Achieve's touch-points. I led a multi-departmental team to create a unified system with over 400+ unique illustrated assets to address these inconsistencies and set creative teams across Achieve up for success.
400+
Unique illustrated assets
100%
Adoption across all internal teams & digital experiences
30%
Improvement in project efficiency
400+
Unique illustrated assets
100%
Increase in autopay enrollment
30%
Improvement in project efficiency
400+
Unique illustrated assets
100%
Adoption across all internal teams & digital experiences
30%
Improvement in project efficiency
Context
Background
Achieve is dedicated to empowering individuals with digital financial solutions like debt relief, personal loans, and home equity options. When I joined the team, the company was transitioning from its old, outdated brand (Freedom Financial) to its new identity, Achieve. The rebrand included a new logo, updated brand standards, typography, and a refined voice.
Problem
With the introduction of Achieve's rebrand, it became apparent that a key part of the brand's visual language was missing—illustrations. Creative teams across the company were using stock illustrations and coming up with their own imagery to use throughout marketing, digital product, and corporate communication touch-points. The result was a lack of consistency, voice, and brand values.
Goals
Our main goal was to create a cohesive illustration style that can be leveraged across all Achieve touchpoints.
Establish a shared vocabulary in reference to illustrated assets
Deliver a comprehensive, systematized library of illustrations that could be used across multiple creative teams and stakeholders (across a variety of digital platforms)
Provide cohesive guideline documentation which showcased the taxonomy and anatomy of our illustrations as well as usage guidelines for Achieve;s various teams. This document should also cover thoughts and guidelines for how illustrations may be adapted for different mental models, products, and channels.
Create a request and review procedure for the creation of new illustrated assets
Process
Discovery
Discovery
Discovery
Early Design explorations
Early Design explorations
Early Design explorations
research & feedback
research & feedback
research & feedback
Finalize & Systemize
Finalize & Systemize
Finalize & Systemize
Results
After the initial release of the new Achieve Illustration System, we were met with overwhelmingly positive sentiment from creative teams and stakeholders alike.
Libraries populated with over 400 visual assets (and counting!) created and made available for use across various departments
100% adoption of illustration system across all digital product experiences
Positive feedback from stakeholders (98% satisfaction rate in terms of consistency and visual appeal)
Increased alignment with Achieve’s brand identity, assessed through internal stakeholder surveys and external user research.
Reduction in custom illustration requests (30% fewer bespoke requests due to the availability of a comprehensive library).
Crafting Achieve's illustration system from the ground up
Role: Lead Designer & Illustrator | Company: Achieve | Project Scope: XL
With the introduction of Achieve's rebrand, it became apparent that a key part of the brand's visual language was missing—illustrations. Creative teams across the company were using stock illustrations and coming up with their own imagery to use throughout all of Achieve's touch-points. I led a multi-departmental team to create a unified system with over 400+ unique illustrated assets to address these inconsistencies and set creative teams across Achieve up for success.
400+
Unique illustrated assets
100%
Adoption across all internal teams & digital experiences
30%
Improvement in project efficiency
400+
Unique illustrated assets
100%
Increase in autopay enrollment
30%
Improvement in project efficiency
400+
Unique illustrated assets
100%
Adoption across all internal teams & digital experiences
30%
Improvement in project efficiency
Context
Background
Achieve is dedicated to empowering individuals with digital financial solutions like debt relief, personal loans, and home equity options. When I joined the team, the company was transitioning from its old, outdated brand (Freedom Financial) to its new identity, Achieve. The rebrand included a new logo, updated brand standards, typography, and a refined voice.
Problem
With the introduction of Achieve's rebrand, it became apparent that a key part of the brand's visual language was missing—illustrations. Creative teams across the company were using stock illustrations and coming up with their own imagery to use throughout marketing, digital product, and corporate communication touch-points. The result was a lack of consistency, voice, and brand values.
Goals
Our main goal was to create a cohesive illustration style that can be leveraged across all Achieve touchpoints.
Establish a shared vocabulary in reference to illustrated assets
Deliver a comprehensive, systematized library of illustrations that could be used across multiple creative teams and stakeholders (across a variety of digital platforms)
Provide cohesive guideline documentation which showcased the taxonomy and anatomy of our illustrations as well as usage guidelines for Achieve;s various teams. This document should also cover thoughts and guidelines for how illustrations may be adapted for different mental models, products, and channels.
Create a request and review procedure for the creation of new illustrated assets
Process
Discovery
Early Design explorations
research & feedback
Finalize & Systemize
Results
After the initial release of the new Achieve Illustration System, we were met with overwhelmingly positive sentiment from creative teams and stakeholders alike.
Libraries populated with over 400 visual assets (and counting!) created and made available for use across various departments
100% adoption of illustration system across all digital product experiences
Positive feedback from stakeholders (98% satisfaction rate in terms of consistency and visual appeal)
Increased alignment with Achieve’s brand identity, assessed through internal stakeholder surveys and external user research.
Reduction in custom illustration requests (30% fewer bespoke requests due to the availability of a comprehensive library).