AVAIL
Creative Direction Strategy
Naming
Positioning
Identity / Collateral
Environments / Experience
Marketing & Campaigns
Culture & Values
THE ADVENTURE OF SHARED MOBILITY.
Avail is a P2P car-sharing entrant in partnership with Allstate. This project represents my complete ground–up creation of a new brand: from team building, strategy, positioning, naming, and ID, to physical and digital experiences, ad collateral, culture and values.
WHAT IS AVAIL?
Avail is a car-sharing service protected by Allstate. On the surface, we connect people who have cars with people who need to borrow them. The deeper brand mission: enjoying our journeys.
ADVENTURERS & DOERS
Deep down, we’re adventurers and doers – excited about exploring new places, trying new things, and redefining the way people understand mobility…and our country.
BRAND PERSONALITY
WELCOMING
We are always inviting new people into our community. We have an approachable optimism in a world where we are all connected by what we share.
SINCERE
We say what we mean and do what we say we will. We are down-to-earth, loyal and honest. When mistakes happen, we own them and remedy them because we care about people.
VIBRANT
Our brand is fresh, energetic and always looking for the best ideas. We see genuine possibilities around every corner.
AVAIL’S PROMISES
FUNCTIONAL PROMISES
Avail products will always be:
• Locally–relevant
• Easy to use
• Customer–focused
• Protected by Allstate
EMOTIONAL PROMISES
Avail creates uplifting, thoughtful experiences.
In everything we do, we aim to make people feel:
• Safe
• Welcomed
• Happy
We’re about creating moments that connect people to each other, their communities, the country, and to our brand.
BRAND VOICE
We put people first. Hospitality is at the heart of our business, and we serve our customers in an honest, human way, with the grace and sincerity of a true friend.
We all live together, sharing spaces, and conversations. We’re raising the expectations of our journeys and destinations, and how we treat each other along the way.
OUR AUDIENCE
Availers are pioneers in a new category, humbly venturing out into the world to try something new...yet as old as time: freedom of movement.
AN ANTIDOTE TO ISOLATION
We seek to join local communities together across great distances: food deserts, cultural valleys, and economic gaps – to connect with our customers, learn how to serve them best, and shrink the distances between us all.
IDENTITY
The logo was designed to feel human, “pedigreed”, yet future-proof.
The letterforms of the main mark reflect the kinetic energy of our brand, calling back to familiar Americana, while soft curves call forth the endless winding road.
THE MARK
The "A." icon is our shorthand for many of the brand ideals we put forward: motion, playfulness, friendliness. Like the main mark, it takes its inspiration from classic Americana signage, and makes a useful animated property.
TYPOGRAPHY
ANDES ROUNDED / GT WALSHEIM
Like the main mark, the headline Andes is reminiscent of the road. For body copy and smaller information-carrying type, I used a more structured GT Walsheim. Everything in this system underscores a sensation of motion, freedom, and play.
COLOR PALETTE
After collaborating with several outside agencies — including Allstate's AOR Leo Burnett — I managed to push a unique, timeless ID through final board approval. This ushered in a new era of in-house work, and saved the company roughly $60M in outside billings.
I fought to keep the logo muted corporate colors, but in the end Avail bent the knee to its larger partner. These are the compromises that executive-level creatives must confront.
FORM FACTORS
ID should inform user experiences across touch–points: digital, print, environments, and anywhere the customer is. Brand must lead and serve the product team, as any cognitive separation can break the experience, and divide the team.
ENVIRONMENTS
More than just a service, I wanted AVAIL to be in the business of behavior change — of connecting people. A “Connector” is like a great Host: Always welcoming, smart, and sunny, creating cohesive experiences, ensuring everyone has a good time. A local expert, and a cool storyteller. Each of this brand’s physical experiences live into the traits of the “Host”.
SUMMATION / ROI
In building the AVAIL brand, I set out to capture the feeling of the American Road trip — to remind people that freedom is a great privilege. I’m proud of the Strategy, Identity, and all Avail’s properties, but my most important accomplishments were:
Prioritizing emotional promises over functional propositions: creating a tribe, rather than a service.
Cultivating a strong creative culture that could meet and surpass major AORs, saving the company millions, while leveling up the design literacy of the company for years to come.
If you want to dive deeper into the inception of this brand, and the cultural roadmap I followed, see the Discovery.
