Synchrony Bank Keeping Employees Connected During COVID
When COVID hit, we were all thrust into an unprecedented world, navigating changes we had never faced before. Many of us were sent home to work remotely, including me. While I was excited to embrace full-time remote work, it was also an adjustment. Transitioning from a bustling downtown Cleveland office with hundreds of colleagues to working alone from home was a significant shift that took time to adapt to.
During this period, one of our clients, Synchrony, also transitioned their employees to remote work. Many employees expressed feeling disconnected from the company and their colleagues. To address this, Synchrony introduced a program called Colleague Connect, designed to foster engagement and alleviate loneliness. They asked our team to create a logo for the initiative. Collaborating with a few fellow designers, I began brainstorming and developing concepts to visually represent the program’s mission and bring a sense of connection to their workforce.
Whenever I begin a logo project, my first step is thorough research. I explore current trends, analyze what others are creating, and reflect on designs that resonate with me personally. To keep my ideas flowing, I maintain a detailed Pinterest account where I collect and organize anything that inspires me—whether it’s a color palette, typography, or an innovative design. I frequently revisit these pins during the creative process to stay fresh and open to new perspectives. You never know when inspiration will strike, but having a well-curated source of ideas makes those moments even more rewarding.
Once I felt inspired, I dove into Illustrator and began bringing concepts to life. My process usually starts with one idea, which I refine and iterate on until I feel it’s been fully explored. Then, I shift to a new direction. I like to keep various design elements on the board—such as letters, symbols, or icons—to help me view the project from different perspectives and spark creative angles.
For this logo, I focused on the letter "C" as a central element, tying it to both words in Colleague Connect. I also incorporated the Wi-Fi symbol as a subtle nod to remote work and digital connection. Synchrony’s vibrant color palette provided a great foundation, and as the designs began to take shape, I periodically added color to test new ideas and directions. This iterative process allowed me to continually refine and expand the concepts, ultimately creating a design that captured the program’s essence.
Once I had developed a solid set of ideas, I presented them to the art director on the account for feedback. This stage of the process is one I truly value, as it provides an opportunity to refine and elevate my concepts. The art director’s insights often challenge me to push my ideas further, simplify where needed, or adjust for scalability. I genuinely enjoy hearing how others perceive my work—it’s a crucial part of the creative process that I never take for granted. In this case, the art director selected four of my designs and asked me to create five mockups of each, allowing us to explore their potential in greater depth.
Once all the designs from our team were finalized, we compiled them into a PDF and sent them to Synchrony for review. They are typically prompt in providing feedback, and within a couple of days, they responded with their notes and edits. Two of my designs were selected alongside one from the art director, and they also shared a few additional ideas from their team for us to explore.
After refining the selected concepts and incorporating their feedback, we sent the updated designs back for final consideration. The art director and I always enjoyed a friendly competition to see whose design would ultimately be chosen. This time, my logo won, and I happily earned a free coffee as bragging rights!
After the final logo was chosen, it was time to get it packaged up for them. We gave them a full color version of the logo along with an all black version and an all white version. We like to give them different sizes as well to illustrate how the logo will work in different layouts as well as version that's just an icon. In the end the client was very pleased with the work we had done. Over the five years I worked on the Synchrony account I worked a lot of logos for them. Logo design is defiently one of my favorite things to do and work on.
