Trello Illustration
System Redesign
Illustration
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Art Direction
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System Design
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Illustration 〰️ Art Direction 〰️ System Design 〰️
The Trello brand remained the same for 10 years and needed a refresh to make the leap from a free standalone product to a paid suite of enterprise services. We redefined the illustration system and brand, retaining Trello’s charm while maturing product identity and infusing elements of Atlassian DNA to fit within the larger brand ecosystem.
To reflect Trello’s “personable” brand principle, we transformed Atlassian’s tiny behind-the-scene meeples into life-sized characters with unique personalities. Introduced a warmer color palette, physical textures, personalized accessories, realistic environments, and emotional states to let individuality shine and constructed 2D characters with principles of 3D rigging to streamline the animation/puppeting process.
New cast of characters to streamline illustrations across Brands. Built with interchangeable parts to simplify animation and variability.
Ease of use
The final illustration system, brand guidelines, and design kits are structured such that the same character/illustration asset can dynamically scale across Trello and Atlassian brand placements, including websites, blogs, marketing, ads, campaigns, etc. This creates a connective tissue between both brands while maintaining their distinct expressions, and increases cross-team collaboration, efficiency, and quality of asset production.
Featured spotlight
Simplified product illustrations communicate brand value without overwhelming the user with extraneous visual information. Applying monochrome allowed elements to recede into the background, while full color creates a spotlight, highlighting the most important product features in the foreground.
Product Illustrations
system Design
Optimized design for animation to easily transition between timeline, board, table, and map views. Established design principles, grid, proportions, icon library, to create a consistent cohesive visual language.
Design Team: Cindy Duong, Vania Wat, Sarah VanSlyke, Sari Jack