Brand Evolution

KINDRED

Brand Evolution

KINDRED

Story

Kindred is a members-only home-swapping network that enables users to live a travel-rich lifestyle by exchanging their residences with trusted peers. Through the power of community, members can connect with kindred spirits and explore new destinations without breaking the bank.

Challenge

With combined Seed and Series A funding of $27 million and recently surpassing the 10k nights booked milestone, Kindred is entering the next phase of its growth. As part of its go-to-market strategy and to continue building trust with its members, Kindred aims to evolve and elevate its brand.

Outcome

Aiming to differentiate from Airbnb and typical SaaS brands, the evolved brand for Kindred draws inspiration from the visual language of interiors, architecture and travel while remaining true to Kindred's brand value of boldness, warmth, aspiration and reliability.

Client

Category

Kindred

Brand Evolution

My Role

Creative Director, Designer, Illustrator

My Contribution

I was the Creative Director, designer, illustrator and art director conceptualizing the visual strategy and positioning, developing the design, creating the illustrations and editing and animating the videos.

I was the Creative Director, designer, illustrator and art director conceptualizing the visual strategy and positioning, developing the design, creating the illustrations and editing and animating the videos.

I was the Creative Director, designer, illustrator and art director conceptualizing the visual strategy and positioning, developing the design, creating the illustrations and editing and animating the videos.

Member Artifact

Joining Kindred is a special and delightful experience, as only homes meeting Kindred's quality standards are accepted. To celebrate this milestone, Kindred wanted to offer members something to mark the occasion. I designed a membership card inspired by luggage tags to convey the feeling of travel. The digital version of the card can be shared on social media, while the design can also be made into a physical item. This asset has the potential to go viral, increasing Kindred's brand awareness and enhancing the members' brand experience.

Illustrations

Illustrations

Kindred's home swapping concept can be challenging to explain to users, I created a series of illustrations that clearly and simply communicated how Kindred works and the various ways members can swap or share their homes.

Website

The redesigned site features simple and straightforward navigation, with a content strategy focused on images and videos. The design incorporates clear calls to action and a 'one-idea-per-page' approach. The homepage showcases video footage of members' homes, sourced from Kindred's social media, reinforcing and leveraging the brand's strong social media presence. A grainy video treatment evokes the nostalgic feel of home videos, contributing to an aesthetic that is warm and familiar.

Social Media

Kindred is a shareable product with a highly active social media following. I designed a series of dynamic social videos highlighting Kindred's value proposition using the theme 'The Perfect Home Swap ...' for its followers. The montage of opening doors serves as a campaign motif, suggesting the endless possibilities and opportunities that Kindred opens up for its members. I also created social media templates to ensure a consistent and recognizable brand presence across all touch-points.

Kindred is a shareable product with a highly active social media following. I designed a series of dynamic social videos highlighting Kindred's value proposition using the theme 'The Perfect Home Swap ...' for its followers. The montage of opening doors serves as a campaign motif, suggesting the endless possibilities and opportunities that Kindred opens up for its members. I also created social media templates to ensure a consistent and recognizable brand presence across all touch-points.

Kindred is a shareable product with a highly active social media following. I designed a series of dynamic social videos highlighting Kindred's value proposition using the theme 'The Perfect Home Swap ...' for its followers. The montage of opening doors serves as a campaign motif, suggesting the endless possibilities and opportunities that Kindred opens up for its members. I also created social media templates to ensure a consistent and recognizable brand presence across all touch-points.

Collateral & Communication

Kindred has an opportunity to elevate its member experience with the brand evolution. Guest cards, guest essentials, multi-use travel/laundry bags and the Kindred newsletter were redesigned to illustrate how the evolved brand can come-to-life.

Kindred has an opportunity to elevate its member experience with the brand evolution. Guest cards, guest essentials, multi-use travel/laundry bags and the Kindred newsletter were redesigned to illustrate how the evolved brand can come-to-life.

Kindred has an opportunity to elevate its member experience with the brand evolution. Guest cards, guest essentials, multi-use travel/laundry bags and the Kindred newsletter were redesigned to illustrate how the evolved brand can come-to-life.

Branded Partnership

Branded Partnership

Branded Partnership

Branded partnerships are n effective way to access new audiences, increase brand awareness beyond owned social media channels and accelerate go-to-market speed. Sponsorship and partnerships with On the Grid—a community-driven city guide created by local creatives—offer perfect synergy with Kindred's design-focused user base through relevant content that draw in new users and elevate the brand.

Reflections & Key Learnings

Reading Kindred investor Elad Gil's "High Growth Handbook" offered critical insights into scaling and growing an organization, how to build strong leadership teams, maintain organization culture and implement scalable systems. It emphasized the relationships between speed, quality and customer focus. The takeaways helped me better understand Kindred's growth trajectory and how I can best align my efforts to add maximum value.

Reading Kindred investor Elad Gil's "High Growth Handbook" offered critical insights into scaling and growing an organization, how to build strong leadership teams, maintain organization culture and implement scalable systems. It emphasized the relationships between speed, quality and customer focus. The takeaways helped me better understand Kindred's growth trajectory and how I can best align my efforts to add maximum value.

Reading Kindred investor Elad Gil's "High Growth Handbook" offered critical insights into scaling and growing an organization, how to build strong leadership teams, maintain organization culture and implement scalable systems. It emphasized the relationships between speed, quality and customer focus. The takeaways helped me better understand Kindred's growth trajectory and how I can best align my efforts to add maximum value.

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