Role
Co-Designer
Team
Fin Taylor
Duration
6 Weeks
Overview
As part of our coursework at Georgia Tech, Fin and I took on the challenge of reimagining the brand identity of a major corporation through the creation of a professional style guide. The goal of the project was to design a cohesive brand and visual identity system that communicates core values across digital and physical spaces.
We chose to redesign Amazon under the new name Amado, with a focus on human connection, sustainability, and emotional resonance. Over several weeks, we collaborated to create a comprehensive brand identity system, which we implemented across a range of key brand assets.
The guide below highlights our design process, covering research, ideation, and final deliverables.
My personal contributions include:
Conducted user research to inform design decisions
Created print materials, including posters and billboards
Designed and improved the user experience on our website
Amazon is known for its speed, scale, and efficiency, but as people grow more mindful of the values behind the brands they support, how might we reimagine Amazon to feel more human, responsible, and emotionally connected?
Comparative Analysis
First, we conducted a brand analysis to understand the emotional and functional gaps in Amazon’s current identity.
To better understand how Amazon presents itself and is perceived by consumers, we used the Kapferer Brand Identity Prism, a framework that breaks down key elements of a brand’s identity across six dimensions.
User Interviews
To redesign Amazon into Amado, it was essential to understand how and why real people currently interact with Amazon.
We interviewed 4 amazon users, ranging from students to professionals. We established interview goals, wrote a guide to support our goals, and then affinity mapped our data to better understand certain relationships.
Key Insights
From our research, we uncovered three main insights.
Goals
Keeping our research in mind, we made the following goals for our brand redesign:
Design an experience that feels human, intentional, and emotionally resonant
Embed sustainability across brand assets to reflect a deeper commitment to environmental care.
Create a consistent, flexible visual identity system
First, we focused on establishing a clear and concise brand identity to guide our design process.
Brand Identity Prism
The identity prism was essential in defining the core values of Amado : sustainability, emotional connection, and transparency. Instead of starting with visuals, we used the prism as a foundation to guide the entire rebranding process.
It helped shape a consistent voice and informed decisions across visual and physical elements, ensuring the brand remained cohesive, intentional, and value-driven.
Mood Board
Next, we began by creating a mood board that explored a visual tone of our brand's values: sustainability, emotional connection, and transparency.
Naming and Sketching
Then we began sketching ideas for branding.
Why "Amado"?
"Amado" means 'beloved' in Spanish. The name conveys warmth, care, and cultural depth.
Why the Leaf ?
We chose to design two interlocked leaves, evoking an upside down heart shape, that emphasizes our brand's environmental values.
After establishing our brand identity, we focused on creating a cohesive design system that reflected Amado's personality and values.
Logo Design
This is our horizontal design. It should be used as our most extensive version. We chose to incorporate a leaf as the first “A” in Amado to connect our brand's emphasis on both environmentally-friendly and community-based practices.
Other Logo Uses Include:
Lastly, we have our text logo. This logo is geared for more type focused branding. The font uses organic curves and a lowercase, handwritten-like form to convey approachability.
Color Palette
We explored a range of palettes, testing combinations that felt inviting, grounded, and environmentally conscious.
Earlier palettes leaned too muted, lacking the vibrance and emotional warmth we hoped to potray.
We settled on a soft, earthy, and emotionally intelligent palette of colors.
Grounded in green and softened by sand and mint, our final palette strikes a balance between ecological intent and approachability.
Amado Green conveys energy, optimism, and ecological action.
Mild Sand brings approachability and softness, echoing recycled textures.
Forest Pine adds depth and trust, suggesting reliability and grounded values.
Highlight Mint is playful and fresh, ideal for moments of highlight in the UI.
Zinc Grey neutralizes the palette, providing clarity and calmness.
Typography System
Company Font
Headers
Body Text
Applying Amado’s brand identity across physical and digital spaces allowed us to reinforce its values, sustainability, emotional connection, and transparency, through real-world interactions.
Website & Mobile App
The website experience prioritizes clarity, calmness, and accessibility—guiding users through a more mindful approach to shopping.
Key features we focused on implementing included:
A dedicated small business spotlight
A “favorites” option to save preferred businesses or products
A personalized profile section that added a human touch
Print Material
Our print materials bring Amado’s tone to life in public spaces, inviting communities to slow down and shop consciously.
We began with the business card, intentionally printed on seed paper—so instead of being thrown away, it can be planted and grow into something new.
We then designed a poster that invites the community to a local farmers market to spotlight small businesses and sustainable food practices.
Lastly, we designed a large-scale billboard to maximize visibility and extends Amado’s mission into public space, encouraging passersby to reconsider how and where they shop.
Merchandise
We created a line of branded merchandise to bring Amado’s identity into everyday, personal use. Each piece embodies the brand’s values of sustainability and human connection, transforming practical goods into meaningful extensions of the brand. This approach emphasized that Amado is more than just a logo or website, it’s a brand designed to live alongside its community.
A reusable Nalgene water bottle with out graphic logo and highlight mint color for the cap. Made out of recycled BPA-free plastic.
A tote bag made up of many of our logo leaving white space outlining a heart shape.
A simple t-shirts with our logo and wordmark on the front and the large heart variation on the back.
Reflection
Reimagining Amazon as Amado was an opportunity to explore how brand design can shape not just perception, but values and behavior. This project challenged me to think beyond aesthetics and focus on building a system rooted in empathy, sustainability, and human connection. Every design decision was guided by a deeper mission: to create a brand that feels personal, intentional, and regenerative.
Throughout this process, I deepened my understanding of brand strategy, identity systems, and storytelling across both digital and physical spaces. More than anything, this project reinforced the power of design to influence culture and create space for slower, more meaningful interactions.