From Packaging Brief to a Multi-Channel Employee Recognition Brand System
Accolad began as a pre-launch venture with an experienced co-founder, a DIY logo and a small color palette. The first request was packaging. That focused assignment became the starting point for a brand system that expanded across physical products, digital experiences, website design, campaigns, events, documentation and, later, a new product line.
Client
Accolad
Sector
Employee Recognition, Rewards Technology, Corporate Gifting
Main Market
Canada
Timeframe
2023–ongoing · Packaging-first engagement followed by 2+ years of brand development and Afterbranding
Engagement
Packaging-first brand development, Brand identity system, Digital and website applications, Ongoing Afterbranding
What I created
Logo refinement and identity system, Gift-card and packaging system, Short and expanded brand guidelines, Illustration and graphic language, Self-service UI and digital gift-card applications, Website and landing-page design, LinkedIn and campaign assets, Event and exhibition applications, The Game product identity and packaging, Ongoing rollout support
The situation
Accolad was a new venture in 2023, but co-founder Yanik Guillemette was not new to building businesses. He had already built a similar company and came to the project with a clear understanding of the recognition and rewards market he wanted to enter.
What did not yet exist was the Accolad brand system. The starting point was a co-founder-made logo and a small color palette. There was no packaging language, typography system, illustration direction, digital design framework or brand documentation.
Yanik initially contacted me for one practical need: packaging. That first assignment became the point where the visual identity had to move from two starting ingredients into something that could function across real products and channels.
The problem
Packaging immediately exposed the decisions that a logo and two colors could not answer on their own.
The mark needed to work across small gift cards, printed sleeves and larger boxes. Color needed to extend beyond the original palette. Typography, illustration, composition and information hierarchy had to be defined for production rather than imagined in isolation.
The challenge was not to replace Yanik's starting idea. It was to refine it and build enough structure around it that Accolad could grow into physical, digital and public-facing applications without becoming visually fragmented.
What the brand needed
The immediate objective was to make the packaging work without pretending a complete identity already existed. The founder's symbol and initial blue-and-orange palette were the starting ingredients, but the physical products required a much wider set of decisions.
Refine and regularize the logo while preserving the original concept.
Extend the color system and define typography, hierarchy and graphic behavior.
Create packaging logic across physical gift cards, sleeves and presentation boxes.
Develop an illustration language that could move between print and digital use.
Translate the system into self-service UI, website pages, campaigns and public-facing applications.
Document the rules as the number of touchpoints increased.
As the relationship continued, the objective widened. New applications needed to feel recognizably Accolad without repeating the same composition every time. By 2025, the system also had to support a distinct new product, The Game, with enough independence to have its own personality while remaining part of the Accolad brand.
What was built
01 · Refining the founder's starting point
The original DIY symbol contained the core visual idea Yanik wanted to keep, so I refined rather than replaced it. I reconstructed the geometry, cleaned the intersections and proportions, clarified the relationship between symbol and wordmark, and retained the blue and orange that were already part of the concept.
02 · Packaging became the first system test
Packaging was the point where Accolad had to move from a logo and colors into a working identity. I developed physical gift cards, sleeves and presentation boxes, each with different proportions, information requirements and production constraints. Illustration, typography, color and composition became repeatable building blocks rather than one-off decoration.
The work moved through mockups, dielines and production-ready files into manufactured pieces. The finished cards and boxes provided a practical test of whether the visual rules could survive real printing, materials and supplier execution.
03 · Extending the same language into digital and public-facing use
Once the packaging language was established, the same system expanded into digital use. I designed self-service gift-card interfaces, website and landing-page directions, LinkedIn graphics, campaign assets and other recurring applications. The goal was not to create a separate digital identity, but to make the same brand feel coherent in functional interfaces and marketing environments.
The identity also moved into larger physical environments, including event and exhibition applications. Seeing the brand implemented at scale and produced by outside suppliers became another test of whether the system was clear enough to travel beyond the original design files.
04 · The guidelines grew with the business
The first documentation was deliberately short because the original need was packaging. As more applications appeared, the reference expanded to cover audience, tone of voice, logo construction, color, typography, gift-card formats, illustration, iconography, imagery and people. The brand book developed in response to real use rather than being written as an abstract exercise at the beginning.
05 · Summer 2025: extending Accolad into The Game
By summer 2025, Accolad needed a new physical product: The Game, a conversation-card experience designed to help groups learn more about one another through thoughtful and unexpected questions.
The product needed its own personality and packaging while still feeling connected to Accolad. Instead of repeating the earlier gift-card illustration system unchanged, I developed a softer gradient-led environment, a simplified monochrome expression of the Accolad identity, a dedicated icon set, card hierarchy and product packaging. The result was a distinct product expression built inside the larger brand system rather than beside it.
The result
Accolad did not begin as a planned multi-year branding engagement. It began with packaging.
From that first assignment, the work expanded into the visible infrastructure of the new venture: logo refinement, packaging, printed gift cards, illustration, digital interfaces, website pages, campaign assets, LinkedIn, event applications, brand documentation and ongoing production support.
The strongest proof is the continuity of the system. The same foundation supported new formats and channels over more than two years without requiring Accolad to restart its visual language each time.
By 2025, that foundation was flexible enough to support The Game as a new product with its own expression. What started with a founder-made logo, a small palette and a packaging brief had become a broader brand system that could keep evolving with the business.
"Working with Mariya has been an absolute pleasure! Her creative vision, attention to detail, and dedication to each project make her stand out as a top-tier graphic designer. She effortlessly brings ideas to life, blending her artistic talent with a deep understanding of branding and aesthetics.
From the initial concept to the final product, Mariya is always professional, communicative, and open to feedback, ensuring that the end result not only meets but exceeds expectations. She has a unique ability to translate complex ideas into visually stunning designs that capture the essence of the brand.
Whether it’s designing logos, marketing materials, or web graphics, Mariya consistently delivers high-quality work on time and within budget. Her creativity knows no bounds, and her passion for design shines through in everything she creates.
I would highly recommend Mariya to anyone in need of a skilled, reliable, and visionary graphic designer. She’s truly exceptional."
Yanik G.
Founder, Accolad