Saint Friend

With the launch of our new website, Rail's new brand is officially all-the-way live. We all know that a 'brand' is so much more than the visual design. And like any brand, Rail's identity has been in progress long before there was a marketer around to codify it. I joined this team because of the integrity, intention, and impact that was already evident here — our rebrand was just about bringing those values front and center. Everything you'll see from the Rail logo to our new website exists in thanks to the brilliant folks at Saint Friend. I've been wanting to work with Kate Carter and Nicholas Carter's shop for a long time (since we were all in-house at Simple, back in the early days of fintech), and beyond being a delight to collaborate with, they delivered above any vision I could've dreamt up. I love our brand because every asset, element, and energetic nuance ties back to the Rail story — making the vast complexity of global money movement as simple as a single API, that leads to huge impact for our clients and their businesses. So, please do check us out at rail.io, I'd love to hear what you think! ?? ? Bonus points if you can guess what inspired the color scheme

Few things make me happier than when other creative friends tap Saint Friend for a fun, innovative collaboration like this one. A few months back, Creative powerhouse / Strategist / Renaissance man Garett Stenson asked the studio to help him in relaunching his company db—clay's super fun duct tape wallet kit. This was such a fun collaboration, keep your eyes out for these in the wild ?? #designstudio #designagency #creativeagency #collaboration #cpg #packagingdesign #diy

One of our core beliefs at Saint Friend is the idea that you need to give your audience the right message at the right moment, even if it isn’t the end-all-be-all of what your product does. When Nicholas and I worked together at Simple—the online bank where we first formed our partnership—the product was pioneering including budgeting and savings tools inside the app. They believed was their core differentiator, and to some extent they were right. Once people got into the app, the users who adopted those tools would become huge fans and devoted to the bank. Small problem—outside the app, no one cared. Most people willing to try a new bank are shopping around for rates, low or no fees, and even sometimes experience design. No matter how many times we tried writing and creating ads about the budgeting and savings tools, what converted best was almost always “Fee Free Banking.” This is the part of the post where marketers are throwing their hands in the air, product managers are rolling their eyes and upper management is thinking something like “just do your job please.” But it isn’t the end of the post. Once people were in the door, that’s when we had a great onboarding experience. First run animations, lifecycle emails, tool-tips in the app, all tailored to give users the right message at the right moment. It all added up to a breadcrumb trail of education that, over time, created the understanding of the value of those differentiating features. All those things we wanted to talk about in ads, but were a bit too tricky for people to conceptualize or care about until they actually experienced them. It’s tempting to try to make your audience understand every single thing about your product at once. But that’s missing the opportunity—sometimes it’s just about moving them forward enough to get them to say yes, and then continuing to demonstrate why your product is so great. That’s when you turn people who maybe were just kicking the tires into your biggest fans ?? #onboarding #messaging #copywriting #designstudio

A fun (and a little surreal) share, but Saint Friend's website was featured this week on Siteinspire ?? The studio has been around for 7 years now, and I am so proud when I think of everyone who has ever been part of the work: the amazing people who have been part of our team, and our incredibly trusting and thoughtful client partners. Check it out, show us some love, and give three cheers to creative power of friendship ? https://lnkd.in/e5U-fv4p

More butts on bikes moving with freedom and joy. Speedy's E-Bike Rescue helps you get your bike (especially those big heavy e-bikes) where they need to go when pedaling isn't an option. Wave if you see our electric van driving around Seattle. I'm really happy with how the new wrap on the van turned out. Thanks Saint Friend #emobility #sustainability #ebikes

Collab Session tomorrow! Last chance to sign up for ? How to Run a Successful Remote Workshop ?

Join us next week for our latest free Collab webinar! Save your spot with the link below?

Whether you need to find common ground or break new ground, facilitating a successful remote workshop is crucial for collaborating across roles, departments, and time zones. Join us on May 22nd at 12 pm PST for a free webinar. We’ll share advice on how to prep, facilitate, and synthesize a remote workshop that draws out the information and creates the alignment that you need. Reserve your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gKzKA2mm ? #webinar #freewebinar #collaboration #remote #hybrid

Remember the fear that shifting to hybrid and remote work would destroy the art of collaboration? Good news: it didn’t. It actually brought us new tools and opportunities to connect with our teams in a way that makes everyone more comfortable and ready to share. For our next webinar, we’ll share advice on how to prep, facilitate, and synthesize a remote workshop that draws out the information and creates the alignment that you need. Head to our event page to reserve your spot:?https://lnkd.in/gKzKA2mm #webinar #workshop #collaboration #collab #remotework #hybridwork

Thanks, Selene Chang for your kind words? We had such a blast meeting and sharing with you all, stay tuned for our upcoming May webinar announcement!