Dodonut - eating a Sustainable Brand and Strategy from the Scratch

TL;DR

We share the journey of Dodonut, our sustainable design agency, from its inception to strategy and branding. Discover how we prioritized sustainability, value-driven work, and a commitment to positive impact.

Before Design - Sustainability as a Strategy

Creating a website and building a new brand is a journey that begins with a clear understanding of business needs. At the heart of our approach is a deep dive into the business context before any design work starts. This was especially true for our brand, where we meticulously noted every detail in each area of our newly established business.

Why sustainability?

When we started thinking about our agency, we knew we wanted to be different from others. We learned from our time at Bejamas that fast and well-performing websites and apps were important, but we wanted more.

Our Agency's Inception:

Beyond Business Goals:

Values

When we started our agency, we had a clear idea of what we wanted to be, thanks to our values and our focus on sustainability. We always try to be open and honest in everything we do. We like to keep things straight and simple. It's important for us to keep learning and asking questions because we think everyone has something valuable to share.

We believe in growing and getting better, both as people and as a company. Supporting each other is really important to us – we're like a team that sticks together no matter what. We work remotely, which is good for us and the planet.

We're responsible with our work. It doesn't matter where we are or what time we work. What matters is what we get done. And we always aim to do better than the day before.

All these values, plus our care for the environment, helped us figure out what our agency should be about. They showed us the right way to go and became the heart of our agency. They materialized in the sustainable web manifesto, where we declare publicly our values and highlight our mission and beliefs.

For who?

Our customer persona is central to our strategy, defined by unique traits and a strong focus on sustainability. Here's a snapshot of who they are:

Metrics

In our pursuit of ideal metrics, we set ambitious targets that guide our efforts to minimize our environmental impact as much as we can:

While fully achieving these numbers might be challenging, we are committed to getting as close as possible. Our approach is to push the boundaries of optimization and innovation, constantly working towards enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of our services.

In addition to these technical metrics, our business-related goals include:

Marketing Strategy

Designing a website with an effective marketing strategy in mind is crucial. In our case, the primary focus is on SEO, which shapes several key aspects of our approach:

These insights direct our web design and development efforts, ensuring that every element of the site aligns with our SEO-driven marketing strategy.

Branding

Naming

When we were thinking of a name for our brand, we had some ideas in mind. The name needed to be fun and something people would remember easily. It was also important that we could use the name with a “.com” top-level-domain as the extension of our domain name. And we wanted the name to be about caring for the environment somehow.

We also thought about using drawings in our brand because they look nice and work well online. This made us think of having a special character for our brand. We chose the name 'Dodo' because it's the name of a bird that isn’t around anymore because of what people did long ago. We picked this name because it reminds us and others to take care of the Earth.

In the end, something really fun helped us make our final choice. We found out we could use emojis to show our company name. We used a dodo 🦤 and a nut 🌰 emoji, like this: Dodo 🦤 Nut 🌰. But as some can notice, this wordplay also includes ‘Do’ and ‘Donut’ 🍩, which emphasize the creative spirit of the agency. In this discovered brand name, we found a great way to show what we are about – being fun and caring for the environment. This simple but cool idea made our brand special and showed everyone what we stand for.

Logomark

Developing the logomark played a vital role in shaping the branding identity of Dodonut.com.

We decided to base our logo form on the beak of the dodo, encapsulating the essence of our one-of-a-kind brand identity.

Centered around the dodo bird, our brand hero, we focused on the following:

Dodo's Beak as the Highlight:

After several designs, we settled on featuring the dodo's distinctive beak, symbolizing our unique brand identity.

For the design, we incorporated Golden Ratio Grid. This was used to reflect our commitment to precise, organized design, ensuring the logomark looks good and aligns with our core values of meticulous craftsmanship.

Incorporating the Golden Ratio Grid into our design reflects our dedication to precise and organized design, ensuring the logomark embodies our commitment to meticulous craftsmanship.

The result was a logomark that perfectly represents Dodonut.com's unique character and design philosophy.

Colors

The Impact:

Deciding on the right colors for Dodonut.com relied on balancing aesthetics with environmental consciousness. We delved into research and embraced a unique approach to stand out in sustainability.

Here's how we made our choices:

Our color palette not only stands out, providing a fresh identity in the eco-conscious market, but also mirrors our core values of innovation and environmental care, resonating with an audience that values both style and sustainability.

These color choices allowed Dodonut.com to truly stand out, offering a fresh and distinctive identity in the eco-conscious market. More importantly, they reflected our deeper values of innovation and care for the planet, resonating with our audience, who values both style and sustainability.

Our Color Palette Decision:

After considering various options, we decided on a vibrant neon lime as our primary color, complemented by a rich violet as our secondary color. This combination not only made our brand visually striking but also aligned with our commitment to sustainability.

Pictograms

When conceptualizing the visual language of Dodonut.com, we decided that our brand should emphasize straightforward, minimalistic shapes. This decision was driven by our goal to incorporate icons in SVG format, which necessitated a simple yet effective language of signs and pictograms. Our intent was clear: to create icons that were not just visually appealing but also functionally robust.

In crafting Dodonut's design, we opted for a brand that highlights simplicity and minimalistic shapes.

In addition, our exploration into the neubrutalism style influenced our approach. This style, known for its stark, bold simplicity, encouraged us to adopt a more streamlined iconographic approach. We crafted a series of unique shapes, including a few Dodo variations, each made with a minimal number of shapes. Complementing these was a set of basic yet distinctive icons specifically designed for use throughout the website. This strategy aligned with our aesthetic vision and ensured clarity and recognizability, integral to the user experience on Dodonut.com.

Dodonut's pictograms.

Dodonut's set of pictograms.

Logo Presentation

Dodonut's logo presentation.

Final Words

In the journey of Dodonut, we've shared our commitment to creating a sustainable brand and strategy from the ground up. From the inception of our agency, where the drive for uniqueness and a deep sustainability focus emerged, to the definition of our values and customer persona, every step reflects our dedication to positive impact.

For us, Dodonut.com is more than a brand. It represents our values, a commitment to sustainability, and a pledge to make a lasting impact.

As we conclude this chapter of our case study, we invite you to stay tuned for the second part, where we delve into the exciting design and development phase. Learn how Dodonut.com transforms its vision and values into a visually stunning and functionally robust website embodying the essence of sustainability. Join us as we continue this journey toward a greener and more sustainable digital landscape.