This and the launch of HappyNest’s new visual identity are the culmination of months of hard work and trust building between our two teams. With that announcement out of the way, let’s move into the nitty gritty of the project and give you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at what all went into helping HappyNest achieve Creative Greatness.

Doug Joseph, Founder and CEO of Serif– “Serif was built for this moment, and for the first time I feel like we’re flexing all of our creative powers. We’re able to do that because Jesse Prince, CEO empowered our team to the best of our abilities because of the trust created between us”.

Brand

HappyNest already had some great energy going when we met them, in terms of their brand. The nest egg and their mascot, Eggmund were easily understandable visual symbols. We took these starting blocks and ran with them. Eggmund is now a full-fleshed character in the real world, and our creative team has been able to expand on the original brand while modernizing it and crafting a distinctive look with its own visual language and beautifully appealing color-scheme.

Sean Grant, Lead Design – “The challenge in reimagining the brand identity for HappyNest was in entwining the credibility of a financial institution with the accessibility of a trusted friend. Riding that narrow line, we carefully balanced a vibrant appealing palette with sturdy, substantial typography.”

Digital/App

The UI and UX of HappyNest’s brand are encountered exclusively

digitally through their freshly-redesigned website and app, so it was important for us to create the best digital customer experience possible. From the creative and technical pressures of development, revisions, and re-revisions, the shining diamond of our work emerged: A from-scratch solution for customers to engage with and learn about HappyNest. This was Serif’s first foray into app design and development, but we took it in stride and were able to apply our years of industry experience to a task that we rose to the challenge of and conquered.

Andy Stiebler, Producer – “Having the opportunity to refine an app and marketing campaign that works to connect people to the path of financial freedom was super rewarding. Flexing our creative skills to embolden people to view themselves as an investor was a fun challenge!”

Production

Puppets? Not exactly the first thing you think of when brainstorming ways to give you real-estate investing startup a real-world presence. It’s exactly what we needed to stand out from the crowd of rival investing apps, though. Jesse, the Founder and CEO of HappyNest, loved it from the start. Using puppet versions of Jesse and Eggmund to star in their own sitcom inspired TV shorts was both a creative challenge and privilege. After all, it’s not every day you get to work with a team of professional puppeteers using Jim Henson level puppets worth thousands of dollars. Our crew worked tirelessly for two production days before the project moved into post-production to create the end product, the Jesse and Eggmund Show.

Liam Bruce – “The Jesse and Eggmund Show was my first large project I edited at Serif, so it will always hold a special significance for me. Beyond that, though, Jesse’s feedback always allowed me to know how to improve the edit without compromising my own creative vison.”

And, of course, none of this would have been possible without the great team at HappyNest and Jesse leading the charge to refresh the brand with video, website, and app design.