CoLab

Market research is currently facing an "authenticity crisis." To combat this, The Insight CoLab was established to restore value to the industry through a human-centric research model.

The goal was to launch a new digital presence that felt less like a cold data factory and more like a living, breathing community. I was tasked with designing a conceptual site for the Australian market that balanced a vibrant brand identity with the sophisticated functionality required for a next-generation data model. The primary hurdle was visual: the design needed to feel professional enough to secure industry partnerships while appearing approachable enough to recruit a truly diverse range of consumer participants.

Goals & Objectives

• Establish trust and create a "Modern Editorial" aesthetic that feels authoritative yet human.
• Source and curate imagery that authentically reflects the diversity of the Australian consumer market.
• Develop a high-fidelity interactive mockup to "sell in" the concept to primary stakeholders and potential industry partners.

My Role

As the lead site designer, I was responsible for the end-to-end conceptual design, stakeholder management, and the creation of the final interactive prototype.

Process

1. Visual Strategy & Mood‍

I moved away from the "tech-heavy" tropes of modern startups. Instead, I leaned into the high-contrast palette—using the vibrant greens, bright yellows, and soft purples—grounded by a deep forest green. This "highlighter" approach allowed us to create a modular, color-blocked grid that organized complex information into digestible, energetic sections. To ensure the brand felt credible and sophisticated, it was paired with a classic, high-contrast Serif for headings with a clean Sans-Serif for body copy. This created a "magazine" feel, lending an air of editorial authority to the insights being shared.

2. Stakeholder Iteration

Over a 3-4 week sprint, I worked closely with primary stakeholders to refine the visual direction. Much of this "back-and-forth" focused on the imagery. We avoided polished stock photos in favor of a "real-life" aesthetic—candid, diverse interactions that felt authentic to the Australian demographic.

3. Prototyping

I translated these visual principles into a high-fidelity interactive mock-up. This wasn’t just about aesthetics; it was about demonstrating how the "collage-style" hero banners and overlapping elements would feel in motion, ensuring the site felt dynamic rather than rigid.

Key Decisions & Rationale

• The Grid Logic: Despite the creative, overlapping header, the rest of the site followed a strict grid. This ensured that even as a conceptual piece, the "complex functionality" of a data-integrated site felt grounded and usable.
• Color as Navigation: Using saturated color blocks to separate text from imagery helped create a clear visual hierarchy, making the site feel like a social platform rather than a corporate portal.

Outcomes & Impact

The interactive mockup served as a vital strategic tool. It successfully laid the visual and conceptual foundations for The Insight CoLab, providing the "vision" necessary to pitch the idea to Australian industry bodies. While internal team changes and a strategic shift eventually moved the focus to the UK market, the design framework I established became the blueprint for the brand’s global evolution.

Learnings

This project reinforced how critical "representation" is in the research space. Finding the right balance in imagery wasn't just a design choice—it was a business requirement to ensure the "authenticity" the brand promised was reflected in its first digital touchpoint.

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