Creating a Brand from Scratch
2020-2021
Branding
Web Design
About the Project
The Client
Auctane is the parent company of ShipStation, ShippingEasy, ShipEngine and ShipWorks. A subsidiary of Stamps.com, Auctane became an official brand in June 2020, as a way to formally present itself as a single organization. Unlike each shipping brand, Auctane is not a product. Instead, it’s meant to serve as a centralized brand for HR and recruiting so employees and job applicants know that ShipStation, ShippingEasy, ShipEngine and ShipWorks are part of the same organization.
Creating a New Brand
As a new organization, Auctane needed the full brand foundation — beginning with a logo, visual identity, and a clearly defined voice and tone. With an aggressive timeline (the site needed to launch roughly two months after kickoff), company leadership opted to keep the work entirely in-house. I led the rebrand in close collaboration with Noah Suppin, Austin Faggard, and Kelsey Jones.
For this case study, I’m focusing less on how the visual identity was created and more on how it was translated to the website, which was my primary responsibility. Key brand elements are shown below.
Applying the Brand to Social Media
Below, you’ll find a sample of posts from our @auctanelife Instagram template.
User Research & Initial Planning
Unlike our portfolio brands, Auctane is primarily a recruiting tool, targeting prospective employees in the greater Austin area. Because there’s no single candidate profile at a 400-person company, we focused on two core groups: young tech professionals drawn to Austin’s growing tech scene and early-career candidates motivated by culture and role fit.
Positioning was key. We needed to clearly explain what Auctane was and differentiate it from the many tech employers competing for the same talent pool. Our hypothesis was simple: humanize the brand and present it as a compelling, sleek, modern company to attract more qualified candidates.
Since Auctane doesn’t rely heavily on paid acquisition, success wasn’t purely traffic-based. We prioritized candidate feedback — where applicants heard about the role, how well they understood Auctane, and whether the site influenced their decision — and expanded interviews within our target demographic to better understand what drives candidates during evaluation.
User Interviews
Candidates said the website strongly shapes first impressions and signals brand credibility, but it’s only one piece of the decision. They also prioritize authentic employee feedback, clear growth opportunities, strong culture, and evidence that the company is innovative, transparent, and respectful.
Click through our accordion below for specific excerpts.
-
“A website definitely influences my perception of a company, but isn’t the end-all-be-all. I think a good website shows a company values marketing and understands how it contributes to conversion. A company that invests in good design is important because it influences consumer perception. And it’s also cool to say “I work for X company” and have your friends look up the site and it looks super cool. It almost gives a company a level of prestige on first impression.”
-
“The feedback of current employees on development opportunities, company culture, and how the leadership team’s ethos trickles down through the org tells me everything I need to know about whether or not a company will be the right fit for me. As a candidate, if you’re not back-channeling and asking current employees about their experience at said company, you’re likely not getting the full picture.”Item description
-
“In terms of factors, I look for companies that are customer-centric, innovative, have a good reputation, and are on a clear path for growth. A company stands out when they treat customers, employees, and external candidates with trust and respect (clear expectations, communication, transparency).”
Imagining the User Experience
Here’s a simplified view of how we expected talent to navigate the site. Many steps are optional, and on every page users can either click or scroll.
The Result
Note: Due to COVID, office photography was extremely limited. As a temporary solution, we featured Auctane employee headshots — a natural fit given the brand’s recruiting focus.
Careers Page
The Careers page goes beyond listing roles to showcase life at Auctane. Open positions and applications are powered by Greenhouse to keep recruiting streamlined. While the main CTA anchors to the listings to reduce friction, we later identified that the page still required too much scrolling, potentially deterring users.
Click on the image below to see the full page.
