Role:
Creative Director
Variabl
Reimagining a SaaS brand from the ground up.
Scope:
Brand Strategy, Logo Design, Visual Identity, Art Direction, Website Design, Brand Guidelines, Marketing Design
Overview:
I led the visual rebrand of ZenCentiv to Variabl, creating a new logo and comprehensive brand identity to better reflect the company's evolution. Working alongside the CMO as a two-person marketing team, I developed and presented the creative direction to executive leadership, then brought the new brand to life across the website, brand guidelines, video, and supporting marketing materials. Within two months of the rebrand, website traffic increased 197% and conversions increased 200%.
01
The Challenge
As ZenCentiv evolved, its existing brand no longer reflected the sophistication of its sales compensation platform or the company's ambitions for growth. The identity felt more like an early-stage startup than an enterprise-ready solution, creating a disconnect between the product and how it was presented to the market.
The existing visual language lacked cohesion and differentiation in a crowded SaaS landscape. With the new name Variabl and an opportunity to reposition the company, we needed an identity that felt more distinctive, credible, and capable of standing alongside established competitors.
The challenge was to build an entirely new brand from the ground up– one that balanced personality with professionalism, communicated the flexibility and precision of the platform, and provided a scalable foundation for future growth.
Before: ZenCentiv's original brand identity
02
The Approach
I started by evaluating ZenCentiv's existing brand and researching the competitive landscape to understand where we could differentiate. Through competitor analysis and a brand questionnaire with the executive team, we identified an opportunity to create something that felt modern, engineered, and premium, without falling into the overly playful or generic enterprise aesthetics common in the SaaS space.
Working closely with the CMO, I explored multiple creative directions, developing initial concepts and refining them as the new name, Variabl, was established. Each direction was evaluated against our brand goals, leadership feedback, and its ability to support a flexible, scalable visual system.
The process ultimately led to a creative direction centered on adaptability, ease, and intelligence at scale. This became the foundation for a distinctive identity designed to balance sophistication with personality, while giving the brand a cohesive visual language across every touchpoint.
03
The Concept
The creative direction centered on a concept called Framed Variables, inspired by the way brackets frame variables in mathematics. The idea reflected Variabl's ability to accommodate constant change while bringing clarity and structure to complex compensation systems.
This concept became the foundation of the visual identity. Graphic frames draw attention to people, information, and outcomes. These frames signal a system designed to hold many variables at once– supporting flexibility and scale. A balance of rounded and sharp corners reinforces a sense of geometry and logic.
Softly grained gradients and organic light imagery bring warmth and depth to the identity, balancing the precision of the structured elements. Together, these elements create a cohesive visual system that feels both sophisticated and approachable.
Variabl moodboard + style exploration
04
The Logo
I designed a custom wordmark inspired by the curves and structure of the bracket symbol, carrying the Framed Variables concept into the logo itself. The letterforms balance rounded and sharp geometry, creating a modern, distinctive mark that communicates stability and precision while retaining a sense of flexibility and movement.
To extend the identity, I developed a standalone brand symbol by framing the “v” from the wordmark within a pair of brackets. This simplified mark captures the core concept in a compact, recognizable form, designed for smaller applications such as product interfaces, icons, and profile images.
05
The Visual System
Building on the Framed Variables concept, I developed a comprehensive visual identity system that brought consistency and flexibility to the brand. From typography and color to gradients, photography, iconography, and graphic elements, each component was designed to work together while adapting across different formats and applications.
I documented the system in a detailed set of brand guidelines, establishing clear standards for how the identity should be applied across digital, marketing, and product touchpoints. The result was a cohesive, scalable design language that could grow with Variabl while maintaining a recognizable visual presence.
06
Brand in Action
With the new identity established, I brought the Variabl brand to life across a range of digital and marketing touchpoints. I designed a new website in Figma, translating the visual system into a cohesive digital experience that reflected the company's evolution and positioned it for its next stage of growth.
To support the rebrand launch, I created social graphics and banners, a launch hype video, and supporting marketing materials, including a customer case study. Each application carried the new identity forward, creating a consistent and recognizable brand experience across channels.
Business Cards
Case Study
Hype Video
Presentation Template
Presentation Design • Art Direction
Web Design • Creative Direction • QA & Launch
Design • Art Direction
Website
Storyboarding • Creative Direction
Social Graphics
Social Design • Animation • Art Direction
Editorial Design • Art Direction
07
The Impact
The rebrand transformed ZenCentiv into Variabl, establishing a distinctive, cohesive visual identity across the company's website, marketing, and digital experiences. The new brand system provided a scalable foundation for growth, bringing greater consistency and credibility to how Variabl presented itself in the market.
Within just two months of the rebrand, Variabl saw a 20% increase in social followers, a 197% increase in website traffic, and a 200% increase in conversions. These early results reflected strong momentum following the launch and helped position the company for its next stage of growth.
+20%
Social followers
Within 2 months of rebrand
+197%
Website traffic
Within 2 months of rebrand
+200%
Conversions
Within 2 months of rebrand