Case Study: Parachute Media Creative Direction

Parachute’s Fresh Digital Brand to Empower WOC
Case Study | Creative Direction & Design | 2020

Parachute Media is a startup built for and by women and non-binary people of color.

With Parachute, we got you and your curiosity on Gen-Z WOC/POC lifestyle, politics, beauty, and more.

The challenge: The 2020 social media messaging around people of color was centered around negative experiences, and neglects the possibility to support women of color. Parachute Media came to me with just a “P” logo and an aim to launch an online brand that reflect its diverse and supportive brand and staff. The founders stated that the goal is to "build a phenomenal and beloved media brand that our audience can connect to, around the experiences of young women of color navigating their lives."

The outcome: A purposefully-curated brand style guide with assigned color schemes for its editorial sections, as well as a vibrant and uplifting art direction to guide illustrators, social media, and imagery.

The results and impact: A successful editorial launch with 100+ articles, and 214 art-directed social media posts in the first year, earning engagement of almost 30,000 total likes with Parachute’s uplifting and supportive content.

Brand Discovery

Brand Descriptors

Collected from brand survey with team leads and founders

Empowering | A balance of simplicity and complexity | Authentic | Resourceful Community | Envisions a better reality

Audience and Values

Based on Parachute’s consumer validation report

Women of color Gen-Z (starting year is 1995) Predominantly high school and college age 84.5% of responders were 18-25 years old; some in “Zillennial” category

Messaging based on audience needs and values:

Value positivity → Humor

Focus on self-care → Need health/wellness content

Enjoy Inspiration → Encouraging content

Want to excel → Educational and career resources

Crave social connections → Social events

Positioning and Purpose

The media landscape that tries to cater towards people of color often exclude the intersectionality between gender and race, and when they do, it focuses on negative experiences. Parachute Media positions itself as a brand that changes that narrative.

Parachute Media provides digital content to Gen Z women of color to foster an empowering environment by delivering authentic messaging, achieving empowerment within a resourceful community that helps envision
a better reality for the audience.

Process

Competitor research

The visual directions were informed by looking at competitors in the women-owned + WOC-centered digital
media sphere (Girlboss, HerCampus, GenZGirlGang, Blavity)

Inspiration and direction

Parachute was given stylescapes with visual options for colors, illustrations, and an audience portrayal, which helped decide the direction of the final style guide. Below are the two finalists.

Stylescape 2 the brand’s ultimate pick, since the vibrancy of colors and contrast between hues matched the “empowering” (but not overwhelming) vibe of Parachute.

The design team was also given a Pinterest board to consult regularly when they need inspiration before creating illustrations or social posts.

Style Guide and Assets

The identity

This minimized version of the full style guide includes instructions on how to use the wordmark, logomark, colors,
and typefaces.

Editorial

I managed a team of designers and illustrators to art direct and produce visuals for Parachute articles. Every section was assigned a color scheme. I collaborated with the Editorial Team and Parachute’s CEO, Ochuko Akpovbovbo, to envision what each editorial section would look like. The Brand Guide explains the rationale of each editorial section color choice.

Social Media

The social media color schemes and visuals are more flexible, and designers are expected to be in-tune with current trends and events. Below are examples of how social media posts are kept fun, vibrant, and shareable with the creative direction given.

Success:

214 social posts | 30,000+ likes | 100+ articles | 3 brand partnerships |

Testimonial

“Katey has an amazing talent for taking a brief, understanding my brand, and translating it into wonderful visuals that always resonate with me and my audience.”

- OCHUKO AKPOVBOVBO, CEO AND FOUNDER

Credits

Creative Direction

Katey Williams

Art Direction

Emily Pascale

Product + Web design

Courtney Ahn

Sneha Shah

Seyi Hausinger

April James

Editorial Design