FunctionFox Systems has launched their new branding and user interface this week, in part to celebrate fifteen years of serving creative companies and inhouse marketing teams. The firm is a leading provider of online time tracking, project management, and invoicing tools. “We are the first to admit it was time for an evolution in terms of our look and interface,” said Corina Ludwig, FunctionFox president. “We’ve been hearing that FunctionFox features are excellent, the look of the product didn’t reflect our deep knowledge and roots in the design world.”
The new look is light, airy, and uncluttered, and reinforces the values of simplicity, integrity and performance.
The visual interface uses a clean structured grid with subtle shading and icon accents that simplifies and instinctively guides how people move through the software.
Additionally, the rebrand includes a move to simplify product names by extending the FunctionFox name across all versions of the software, whether used for outside design firms or in-house marketing teams. And the friendly fox is still present— though with a new modern look — in part to reaffirm the FunctionFox commitment to being a friendly, supportive and smart solution for creative teams.
The origins of FunctionFox — both the software and its memorable “green fox” brand — came out of advertising agency Suburbia Studios. It was designed to serve their own time tracking needs and then offered and embraced by other firms around the world. Indeed, FunctionFox is currently used by more than 100,000 creative professionals in over 120 countries. While the company could have gone back in-house for a new look, using an outside firm was essential for a complete rethink of the brand. “After 15 years we were too close to the product to approach a rebrand objectively. We were ready for a change, open to a revolution or evolution, and needed a fresh perspective,” said Ludwig. “We were ready to embrace a completely new look and feel and sought a firm to help us achieve that.”
The Process
A formal RFP process was initiated in June 2015 and a selection of design firms were invited to take part. “We used a criteria checklist to help compare candidates beyond portfolio and price, to determine “do they get us, who we are, what we believe?” to find the best fit,” said Ludwig. Proposals were submitted by five firms and narrowed to three agencies for final pitch.
The Firm
BrandFX of Vancouver BC delivered the new brand. Says Barry Duncan, associate creative director at the full service communications agency: “It was clear to us from the outset that the FunctionFox name and the fox icon were well-loved by the team and its clients. Our goal was clear: evolve the identity to better reflect this progressive company and its goals, while still maintaining the simple iconic feel of the existing brand. In addition to the full brand update, we worked with the FunctionFox team on a new product interface that embodies the same strategies of evolution and simplicity — early feedback has been very positive and we’re excited to see everything come together for the fox team.”
