Amanda Wondergem | Visual Designer

🧐 The problem

Borrowell, a web and mobile app, helps Canadians achieve financial wellness with free credit scores, reports and personalized products. However, its inconsistent brand identity hinders trust and recognition. A cohesive, scalable identity could enhance credibility, educate users and drive member growth.

🔎 Research

Brand audit‍

Joined as founding graphic designer → Identified inconsistencies and aligned design with Borrowell's mission to empower Canadians' financial wellness.

Competitive landscape & design decisions

Big 5 banks: Photography with text, primary brand colours.
- Decision: Differentiated with custom illustrations to create a more approachable, modern feel.
Fintechs: 3D graphics, 2D illustrations.
- Decision: Chose 2D illustrations to align with Borrowell's clear, accessible brand messaging.
Other brands: 2D illustrations with diverse character representation.
- Decision: Incorporated diverse characters in illustrations to reflect Borrowell’s inclusive values.

🚀 Design approach

Imagery: From A/B testing, illustrations performed better in emails and photography in ads, so I continued with that approach.‍

Brand architecture: As new products were launched (Credit Builder and Rent Advantage), I designed graphics specific to those products, but ensured it adhered to the overall brand look.‍
Scaled the brand: Established trust, differentiated Borrowell in the market and created templates, setting the foundation for future expansion.

Crafting a brand that balances empowerment with calm stability

🚧 Overcoming challenges

As the sole graphic designer, the increasing workload and need to scale design output presented significant challenges. To overcome this, I implemented the following strategies:

Streamlining workflows: I developed templates for recurring tasks (presentation decks, ads and social media posts) to cut down manual work and accelerate marketing output.
Leveraging existing tools: By using Canva templates and Adobe Stock assets as starting points, I executed designs faster and maintained quality while minimizing resource constraints.
Adapting my mindset: Embracing a “good enough” approach allowed me to ship work quickly, learn from A/B testing and iterate faster, rather than striving for perfection on every project.
Leveraging AI: I used Creatify AI to create talking head videos for social media and ads, boosting efficiency and expanding content production without sacrificing creativity.

Scaled design output by 21% as a solo graphic designer through templates

📊 Iterating

Evolving the brand:

Textures: Human touch, approachable, friendly
Imperfect shapes: Add more of an organic feel and a friendlier approach to finances
Depth: Subtle background elements

Building a brand identity that grows with the expanding product offerings