Gomes Consulting
Overview
Client
Eliézio Gomes
In 2019, Eliézio Gomes, technical consultant in partnership with the company SUNIENS - Solar Energy , sought my services to update his logo, website and business card.
Throughout this case study, steps to create a Logo, icons, videos for social media, UX / UI design for the website and digital card will be addressed.
Year
2019 - present
Tools
Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Figma, Miro, Wix.
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Briefing
As a representative of Gomes Consultoria, Eliézio Gomes, approached me to develop a research on the impact and acceptance of the user experience offered on its website. Later I worked on creating the design of a new, more modern interface for their website and interactive digital business card, to match their audience's profile.
The use of sans serif fonts was recommended to bring a more modern look to the identity, the rounded corners of the font were used as a tool to fight against the old idea that solar energy is very expensive, which is only good for large companies. On the other hand, reinforcing the image that the common family can also access and benefit from this technology.
Design Process
immersion
ideate
prototype
test
Immersion (Empathize & Observe)
What?
A space where companies and families feel equally welcomed and have confidence that the work will be done seriously and the proposals presented will be in their best interest.
Who?
People, families and middle class companies, who have a significant expense in electricity, but seek a more profitable alternative in the long term and more ecologically correct.
When?
When they are willing to make a certain initial investment so that they can reap the rewards of that investment in the medium term.
Where?
At first, the focus is to serve people from the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, whether in cities, companies or on farms.
Why?
To democratize the use of solar energy and demystify the ideals that it is something distant and unattainable. In fact, everyone can benefit from this type of technology.
Benchmarking
Important moment to do a study on how other companies are solving the problem that the customer needs to solve.
After selecting the solutions to be studied, they were tested and consolidated, according to the user profile of this type of product (in the case of photovoltaic solar energy) and also the consultancy service in this matter.
The documentation was made according to the findings found within the scenarios that were created for testing, putting itself in the user's shoes.
As the client himself already knows the competition well, he was a very important part of this process of listing the main sources of inspiration.
Then tests and more studies were carried out on the area, which served as inspiration for the next steps, including to determine what would be the most efficient type of marketing for the customer.
Research
The survey was carried out with the aim of measuring the level of understanding and familiarity that users already had regarding the options available in the market for solar energy generation.
The investigation, based on data collected mainly by telephone, was also carried out to measure the level of acceptance that a specialist and consultant on the subject, working in the focus region, could expect.
It was quickly found that solar energy is seen as something distant from the Brazilian family. A large investment that can only be made by large companies and corporations located in large urban centers or large farms.
The target audience is mainly composed of farms in rural regions, some companies and a smaller number of private properties, still in the interior of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in the Serrana Region.
FOFA (or SWOT) Analysis
To measure and evaluate their overall performance achieved so far, the SWOT, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats matrix was used, FOFA in Portuguese.
In order to obtain valuable data to draw a clearer view of the big picture, to help the client draw important conclusions about their business and, in this way, draw up a strategic and intelligent business plan.
Strenghts
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Professional in the field with more than two decades of experience.
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Experience working with various types of clients, including dealing with various intercurrences, emergencies and accident sites.
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It develops individualized service that includes the creation of an action plan and customized solutions for each case.
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It has a professional website that offers up-to-date information on the latest technologies regarding photovoltaic solar energy generation.
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It works in partnership with a large company already consolidated in the field.
Weaknesses
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Need to improve digital marketing strategies.
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It needs more partnerships with influencers as a strategy to attract more leads.
Opportunities
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Create new services and packages to attract new customers and popularize residential installation.
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Offer more times and days for service, inspection and site assessment for the installation of solar panels.
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Offer training and/or products that can optimize energy generation, enable storage and encourage savings and the conscious use of photovoltaic solar energy.
Threats
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Competitors arriving and establishing themselves in commercial spaces in the region.
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The current operating space is not a commercial space.
Personas
Based on the research of possible customers, some personas with different needs were identified. There are two examples below:
Ideate
By analyzing user stories, the Discovery Process helped us determine essential features to drive site acceptance and success. a diagram of user flow was created focusing on the opportunities and value proposition that the team intends to generate.
In this way, it was possible to map the resources that would provide more opportunities for conversion and customer loyalty.
A moderate number of guidelines were initially proposed at this stage, which also served as an introductory guide for a set of references, which were later consolidated into a brand manual.
With the information collected it was possible to start the design process da brand identity, evidencing the best approach for the development of the process of creating a color palette, logo, icons and more brand resources.
Through intuitive knowledge of symbology and parapsychology of colors, several ideas and values were raised for the brand identity, adjusted to the client's principles.
Prototype
Some low fidelity wireframes were designed so that site layouts could be tested as early as possible. After defining which would be the main screens present on the site, the first interactive prototype was created in Figma.
The work was done 100% remotely and the choice of Figma was made to allow the client to monitor in real time how the project was evolving so that it could bring feedback, effectively test and interact with the site that was being designed.
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Key Features
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Responsive Design;
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Information about the services;
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Blog within the site itself;
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Contact options;
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Videos and photos of services already provided.
After doing enough UX research, including gathering ideas, data, information, demands, evaluation, etc. The prototype was consolidated as a direct reflection of how end users can interact with any elements presented on the site.
Design
High-fidelity wireframes and a interactive prototype were created in Adobe XD. We incorporated interactions and animations consistent with site navigation, ensuring that they made sense in the user's flow, generating feedback without causing unnecessary distractions or disrupting the experience.
Grid info:
Main Page: 1920 x 7113
Columns: 12
Gutter width: 16
Column Width: 135
Margins: 70
Branding
The brand was created to represent an initiative that seeks to make photovoltaic solar energy generation a resource accessible to the common user, small local agribusiness producers and also families in rural areas with difficult access to the main electricity grid.
As a basis for identity, the circle represents the energy of the cyclical motion of everything in the universe. The wheel of life with the ups and downs in human existence, making a direct parallel with the polarization present in electrical currents, the positive pole and the negative pole.
The final symbol is formed by a circle with the letter G by Gomes crafted to assimilate the symbol known worldwide as the symbol on and off electronic devices, further reinforcing the proposal to represent the existence of energy.
Style Guide
In our Figma project, shared with the client, we compiled all our components, colors, icons and fonts. later one style guide brand was created to show and educate others on the final choices for all aspects of the UI and maintain the brand identity being used harmoniously in all forms of communication that may be used in the future.
Test
Even following best practices and a robust UX Design process, to really learn what works for the end user, UX Design was tested to understand if the needs of the target audience were being met.
The Usability Test was fundamental to assess the learning ability of new users interacting with the site for the first time. I observed and measured whether users understand the site and how to complete functions, search for services, follow the latest blog news and contact us to schedule a technical visit. Thanks to the Usability Test I was able to define and solve some problems and improve the experience as a whole.
Live Site
Today the site is maintained by the client himself who received instructions on how to add content and make changes according to his needs.
A blog is constantly updated indicating the main news, research and developments in the area of solar energy generation and other environmental initiatives for the conscious consumption of energy and preservation of local diversity.
Live site:
Do you like what you see?
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!