CASE STUDY · BRAND STRATEGY AND VISUAL IDENTITY
IncluRead
Designing the thinking before the logo
From a logo brief to a strategic, client-facing process: FigJam for thinking, AI for speed, and an interactive brand experience for feedback.
I shared my work with the client as an interactive page instead of a PDF. Twelve short chapters take you from the first question to the chosen direction: audience, competitors, mood, accessibility tests and logo directions. Explore it the way the client did.
BRAND STRATEGY AND VISUAL IDENTITY
ROLE
Brand and visual designer: strategy, discovery, identity
CLIENT
IncluRead, a dyslexia-friendly reading app
TOOLS
FigJam, Claude, Canva, Lovable, Affinity, Procreate
STATUS
Direction chosen, logo in development
The brief was a logo.
I treated it as a decision.
What should this brand stand for, and how will a reader with dyslexia feel the first time they see it?
I answered that in FigJam, with the client, then turned the reasoning into an interactive page they could explore and react to.
My approach in four ideas
Four principles.
What guided the IncluRead logo, from first question to final direction.
01
Design thinking
Empathy first, then ideas, then tests.
02
Strategy before style
The brand idea decides the logo, not the other way round.
03
Fast iteration with AI
AI for speed. Judgement stays human.
04
Client collaboration
A live board, then a living page
01 · THE CHALLENGE
A logo for readers tired of being singled out
IncluRead is a dyslexia-friendly reading platform with AI coaching, text customisation and a global book library. The client needed a logo. Underneath was the real question: how do you signal accessibility without making readers feel different?
Brands in this space often lean on mascots, bright primary colours or a clinical tone. The logo had to feel calm, credible and dignified, and because the audience reads differently, it had to be accessible itself.
Accessibility has to show in the logo, not only in the product.
02 · MY PROCESS
Discover. Define. Design. Present.
DISCOVER
A strategy on a FigJam board: audience, competitors, concepts.
DEFINE
Brand personality, brand idea and measurable design criteria.
DESIGN
Three directions, one choice, every risk named and tested.
PRESENT
An interactive page the client can explore and respond to.
03 · DISCOVERY
A color-coded brainstorming
I run discovery on a FigJam board. Every question, idea and decision goes on a color-coded sticky note (questions, ideas, "we are", "we are not", risks, references).
What the discovery board surfaced:
Who is the audience?
Readers tired of being singled out, plus parents and teachers who need to trust the product. The tone: "a real book, not a baby book."
How should the brand feel?
Calm, clear, inclusive and confident. Not a hospital, not a kids’ game, never pitying. Three words: Accessible, Empowering, Supportive.
Where is the gap?
Competitors read as friendly but less suitable for adult audience, simple but generic, or clean but not connected to reading. The opening: a modern brand that still feels warm.
Which ideas might fit?
Open pages, a letter coming into focus, a door. Avoid scrambled letters, brains and medical imagery.
04 · DEFINE
Turning strategy into design criteria
A strategy is only useful if it can judge a design. So I translated it into criteria the logo has to pass.
Legible when small
Reads at 16 × 16 px and 32 × 32 px. No detail thinner than 1 px at 16 px.
Accessible in itself
Contrast of at least 3:1 for the symbol and 4.5:1 for text (WCAG 2.2). Letters like b / d / p / q clearly different.
Flexible
Works in one color, on light and dark backgrounds.
Right tone
Friendly, not childish: no mascot, no cartoon detail.
The mood
A quiet room: soft window light, warm wood, a hand turning a page. Reading as unhurried and safe.
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Calm blues and teal on a warm off-white page. Lexend as the type reference, a typeface designed for easier reading.
Every reference answered one question: does this feel welcoming to someone who has been made to feel different?
05 · DESIGN
Three directions, one choice
OPEN BOOK SYMBOL + WORDMARK
Strength: Says "reading" instantly. A ready-made icon.
Risk: Very common in this space. Says nothing about accessibility.
Outcome: Set aside
CUSTOM LETTERFORMS ("iR")
Strength: The letters carry the idea. Ownable, one-color, no book cliche.
Risk: No standalone symbol by default. Custom shapes can get too quirky.
Outcome: Chosen
Monogram "I" + book
Strength: Compact. Fits a favicon.
​
Risk: A lone "I" is weak and easy to mistake for a bar or an l.
Outcome: Set aside
Why custom letterforms ("iR")
The logo is built from the letters themselves: an "i" with a round dot and a plain stem, and a wide, open "R".
No two shapes can be confused, the forms are heavy and simple enough for 16 px, and it works in one colour.
A short "iR" can carry small sizes while the full wordmark leads everywhere else.
06 · PRESENT
Interactive brand discovery
Client communication
I turned the findings into an interactive brand presentation built with Lovable.
Twelve short chapters take the client from the why to where I landed. I chose it over a PDF for four reasons:
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The client explores in their own order and take their time where it matters to them.
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They react to reasoning, not only taste. The conversation moves from "I like this blue" to "do we agree on this belief?"
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One link that updates in place, with a clear space for feedback. Real-time updates.
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The format matches the brand. For a brand about easier reading, the presentation should be easy to read too.
07 · WHERE IT STANDS
What is done, and what comes next
The direction of the logo is chosen and the logo is in development.
The client has the presentation and a clear place to send feedback. Next: refine the letterforms and spacing, run the small-size, one-color and reader tests, and deliver the full logo set (SVG master, PNG, ICO, app icon and social avatar).