Avala Pursues A More Equitable Digital Labor Economy
In many cases, AI is only as powerful as the data used to train it. But less appreciated are the people collecting this crucial data. Too often they face poor working conditions at odds with AI’s potential to improve people’s lives. Looking to affect change, AI data company Avala needed a brand as impactful as their mission. They teamed with design and branding studio Play to communicate the benefits of a more equitable digital labor economy.
Avala is a mission-driven company that delivers higher quality data faster by investing in the people who create it. This means better pay, upskilling and education opportunities, as well as an intuitive annotation platform that allows people to work from anywhere. In creating an identity, Play was tasked with building a brand world that challenges the industry’s approach to digital labor. “The team at Avala knows and lives their mission in every aspect of what they do,” explains Play Founder/ECD Casey Martin. “It was just our job to help clarify their people-first values and encapsulate them within a unique identity system.“
Starting with a single pixel of data as a foundational visual theme, Play worked to instill it with personality and purpose. This is reflected in the logo and wordmark, which seamlessly blends the digital and human components of Avala. It is built from a pixel grid at the heart of the identity system but imbued with soft curves whose warmth acts as a counterbalance to the rigidity of the grid. Extrusions used throughout the identity become pathways for the pixel as it comes to life. Its movements help illustrate Avala’s ability to drive growth as well as connect AI to better data and people to better opportunities.
Across its visuals, Play worked to create an approachable, humanist brand that incorporates boundless energy. For example, a series of lively 3D-rendered animations featuring the pixel, recontextualized as a cube, become expressions of all the work that Avala does. This includes everything from “Knowledge & Data” to “Transportation & Identification” to “Equality & Inclusion”. A bright color palette, anchored by a vibrant orange, offers a joyful sense of optimism to Avala’s global audience.
