Crafting a strong identity for an in-house incubator, while keeping it distinct from its parent brand.

Who: Fidelity Labs
What: Strategy and brand positioning; website redesign
Role: Senior Experience Designer

Part I: The situation

Who the heck is Fidelity Labs?

Fidelity Labs was having an identity crisis, not because they didn’t know who they were but because others didn’t. And it was hurting their ability to attract new hires.

As an in-house incubator and innovation arm of Fidelity, Fidelity Labs wanted to rebrand itself with its own voice and personality, giving just a small nod to its relationship with Fidelity while staying distinct from that brand’s conservative image.

My role

Senior Experience Designer

• Ran a competitive analysis to assess the landscape of other corporate ‘lab’ websites

• Conducted a comparative audit, finding brands outside the ‘labs’ space to benchmark and use as inspiration

• Delivered several concept designs for the site experience

• Developed navigation structure and site IA

• Created detailed wireframes, as well as content templates

• Created interactive InVision prototype of wireframes to bring them to life

• Led client presentations and incorporated stakeholder feedback into each design iteration

• Helped translate the final wireframes into appropriate designs by partnering closely with design team

Our mission

When we examined other corporate ‘lab’ websites, one thing was clear: they all seemed to be trying too hard to be hip and with it. That inauthentic feel was something we wanted to avoid.

Our direction became clear: don’t be like everyone else.

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How to stand out? Through our core UX concept, ‘Show don’t tell.’

Lead with the work. Don't brag or belabor the point. Above all, be authentic.

Early concept sketches

Part II: The approach

Make the value crystal clear

We needed to make Fidelity Labs’ value proposition simple and unmistakable, for both internal and external audiences. There were two questions to answer: what does Labs do, and how are they related to Fidelity?

To do that, we talked to a whole lot of people. We interviewed key stakeholders and employees doing the work we would showcase. We got a sense of the culture. We immersed ourselves in the Labs design process, the complex problems they were tackling, and the insights propelling their solutions.

Wireframes

The final designs