CONCEPT / CREATIVE DIRECTION / PRODUCT DESIGN
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INTRODUCTION
Bruizr.com was a social network web application, similar to Facebook, aimed at a niche market of gay men who idetify as "bears." Before closing in December 2012, the site boasted 6000+ members.
I am responsible for creating the site, raising 140K of seed capital, directing the software development, and designing and writing everything from the user experience and user interface to the pixel assets and marketing messages.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IDENTITY
The Bruizr logomark and its brand DNA utilize an orange fill, which gradates to a sweet honeycomb texture. In a simplified version, the honeycomb in the logo is replaced with a rich golden yellow. The mark was designed to say that the site was friendly, but fierce. Bruizer Bear's razor sharp teeth represent Bruizr's edge.
IDENTITY
The Bruizr logomark and its brand DNA utilize an orange fill, which gradates to a sweet honeycomb texture. In a simplified version, the honeycomb in the logo is replaced with a rich golden yellow. The mark was designed to say that the site was friendly, but fierce. Bruizer Bear's razor sharp teeth represent Bruizr's edge.
The bruizr logotype is based on Eurostyle Bold with a chunky slab serif added, seen here as it was used on the bruizr.com landing page.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Product / Web Application
Bruizr was the first ever ‘bear site’ of its kind. It combined old school profile building with web 2.0 microblogging.
The site featured a custom-built broadcast publisher like the one on Facebook, G+, Twitter and Linked In. Along with a member-built network news feed, Bruizr featured a public news feed for members who wanted to browse and broadcast to the entire Bruizr community.
bruizr.com landing page
bruizr.com network news feed
bruizr.com member profile page
bruizr.com photo viewer
bruizr.com check-in feature user experience (UX)
bruizr.com help center glossary of terms
bruizr.com reusable banners
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Experience (UX) / User Interface (UI)
Because I am a visual designer, I architect the experience and the interface in tandem and use the visual design comps and either OmniGraffle or Photoshop to create wireframes with very high visual fidelity for my developers; most aspects of which are already coming from styles that are brand standards.
User Experience: SEARCH (3 plates)
User Experience: SEARCH - plate 1 - drop down menu appears
User Experience: SEARCH - plate 2 - drop down menu choice is made
User Experience: SEARCH - plate 3 - as user types, Smart Search displays options.
User Experience: CHECK-IN
User Experience: CHECK-IN screen capture
User Experience: CHAT
User Experience: CHAT - 5 steps in 1 plate - a full scale image is available on my website.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Social Marketing
Rather than work to get fans "like" Bruizr on Facebook, Bruizr took a different approach. Bruizr's mascot, "Bruizer Bear'" had his own page, which peaked with just under 3700 friends and 200+ subscribers. All of whom sent friend requests to Bruizer Bear rather than the other way around. Steadily, these interested folks also joined Bruizr.com
Bruizer Bear on Facebook
With members' permission, Bruizer Bear shared Bruizr member photos with his friends.
Bruizer also shared humorous messages designed to get passed along by fans and friends.
Bruizer's photo albums became filled with member photos and viral marketing images.
Tagged "fan art" and photos of member's in BruizrGear helped get the name further out there.
We did the same thing on Twitter.
For Twitter, we used Buffer App to schedule tweets and we pushed our BruizrGear.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viral Marketing
Bruizr’s marketing messages were designed to put smiles on faces and inspire people to click “share.”
While a few of these “viral postcards” were also made into actual postcards that were then sent to members to distribute in their various cities, most of Bruizr’s marketing messages were posted on social media where they could be “liked” and shared by followers and friends.
