Isometric Studio

Marmalade

 

Comprehensive brand identity and app design for the small business search platform

From mega-corp to mega-cute!

Marmalade is a curated search platform that showcases the online storefronts of small businesses—many of which were founded by women and people of color during the pandemic. Isometric created an authentic and lighthearted brand strategy, design, and copywriting to differentiate Marmalade from impersonal, algorithm driven marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy. The resulting design returns intimacy to e-commerce, distilling millions of search results to help shoppers find extraordinary brands that connect with their specific tastes, communities, and values.


Daydream, discover, delight

Marmalade is both a highly functional search engine and an inspiring taste-making platform. All elements of the visual identity work to help its presentation transcend the pedestrian visuals of traditional online marketplaces. The Marmalade wordmark features a single italicized m that represents the unique find in a wide world of products. The quirky yet crisp typography signals precision and wit, and the abstract “splat” logo adds to the fun, often serving as a container for photography. A suite of custom, playful illustrations adds a further layer to differentiate the joyful and vibrant brand.

Uplifting small business owners

As part of the brand strategy and visual identity design process, we worked with the Marmalade team to identify a number of small business owners to help set the foundation for the app’s brand story. Many of these incredible entrepreneurs were people of color and women who had set up online storefronts amidst the closure of brick-and-mortar establishments at the start of the pandemic. Through interviews and photography, we documented their origin stories, struggles, and successes. This material—along with workshops with representative potential customers—helped Marmalade build a more authentic technology platform that is rooted in real world narratives and experiences.