Shop Controller hired me to create a visual brand identity for their new app that helps auto shop owners manage multiple franchises, shops, invoicing, and everything related to automotive repair.
Through a brand strategy session, I discovered that the automotive industry struggled with messy, outdated management systems, and Shop Controller aimed to solve this pain point with their app.
Market research helped me understand the competitors and the vibe of the automotive marketplace. I wanted to create a visual identity that spoke to the industry while differentiating Shop Controller.
The tagline "Superpowers for your auto shop" and the concept of "powering on" emerged as key threads to guide the logo development.
The challenge that we were very aware of is that this was a saturated market, and the users would not be tech savvy or forgiving to an app that lacked the features they needed. A lot of times the users for this service would be a bit rushed or need to collect data on the fly quickly.
I needed to communicate through messaging and the visual identity that Shopcontroller was way ahead of the competition and had the features you needed to grow, level-up, and provide world class Customer Experience.
The tagline “Superpowers for your auto shop” came to me as I was developing headline options. It encapsulated a message that was true, inspiring, and intriguing.
The visual branding needed to be more on the masculine side but not at all alienate women or be exclusive to men. In a sense, I challenge that gender was a valid metric to work with. Instead I used a masculine feel because of the inspiration of the tools and parts that are used in the automotive industry. Blocky, sharp, sleek, smooth, greasy.
Both genders would connect to this. The color scheme was intentionally chosen to speak towards a sports car and a retro feel. Contrasting bold colors were essential to this branding.
