Axial Shift:
Brand Evolution & Website Redesign for a Growing SaaS Startup
A multi-phase brand and digital transformation designed to launch a new identity, clarify product positioning, and support the evolution from startup tool to scalable platform.
Company
Axial Shift is a workforce management platform for restaurants. By integrating with existing POS systems, the software provides real-time insights, team communication tools, scheduling functionality, and performance-based challenges designed to increase engagement and drive revenue.
Overview
Industry: SaaS / Restaurant Technology
Timeline: Initial Launch – Feb 2022 | Platform Refresh – Feb 2025
Team: CEO, CTO, COO
My Role
Lead Brand & Web Designer
I led the brand and website strategy across two major phases of the company’s growth — first during its renaming and market launch, and again during its platform expansion.
Responsibilities included:
- Brand identity development
- Content architecture and wireframing
- Content strategy (2025 refresh)
- High-fidelity UI design in Figma
- WordPress development (Divi)
- Technical coordination with IT
- Ongoing brand rollout across marketing channels
- Project management and executive collaboration
This was a founder-led startup environment requiring both strategic ownership and hands-on execution.
Project Summary
I’ve partnered with Axial Shift across multiple stages of its growth — first launching the rebrand in 2022 following a name change, and later returning in 2025 to redesign the website as the product matured into a full-featured platform.
The 2022 initiative focused on establishing foundational brand identity, product positioning, and digital credibility. By 2025, the company had expanded its offerings, introduced new pricing models, and shifted toward a marketplace-style ecosystem.
The most recent redesign centered on clarifying product architecture, strengthening messaging, and evolving the visual identity to reflect a more confident, scalable SaaS platform.
Before/After Home Page
Before/After Blog Page
The Challenge
1. Launching a Brand with Limited Foundations (2022)
When Axial Shift rebranded, the company had:
- A new name
- An early-stage product
- Minimal brand equity
- A basic one-page website
The challenge was building a brand system without rigid direction — designing not only for what existed, but for what the product would become.
This required balancing creative freedom with strategic foresight.
2. Rapid Platform Evolution with a Compressed Timeline (2025)
By 2025, the company had grown its offerings significantly. The challenge shifted to:
- Communicating expanded product features
- Clarifying pricing tiers and bundles
- Introducing an app marketplace model
- Refreshing messaging and graphics to match platform maturity
All within a one-month turnaround.
Additionally, I stepped into a new role leading content strategy — translating executive vision into structured messaging while simultaneously mapping content architecture and design direction.
The Strategy
Rather than approaching the redesign as a cosmetic update, I treated it as a digital experience optimization initiative.
The primary goal was to improve how users understood, navigated, and engaged with the product online.
Core objectives:
- Simplify product storytelling through structured page hierarchy
- Improve clarity around features, integrations, and pricing tiers
- Reduce cognitive load in high-information sections
- Create a more intuitive navigation system
- Introduce visual systems that support product comprehension
- Improve responsiveness and performance across devices
- Build modular page components for faster future iteration
This approach ensured that the website functioned not just as a marketing asset — but as a structured product communication tool.
The Process
This project consisted of 6 phases:
Phase 1: Logo & Identity Foundation
The original identity lacked memorability and flexibility.
I developed a bold typographic logo centered around the concept of “shift” — visually expressed through subtle axis disruptions within letterforms. This idea of movement and transformation became the foundation for:
- Pattern systems
- Motion treatments
- Layout structures
- Brand textures and gradients
The identity was designed to scale across digital, environmental, and marketing applications.
Logo Design Exploration
The logo exploration began with a series of hand sketches to quickly test different concepts, letterforms, and visual directions. From these initial ideas, I selected the most promising options and developed them further in Illustrator, exploring variations in form, balance, and scalability.
The process focused on creating a mark that would remain clear and recognizable at small sizes while also functioning effectively as a standalone icon. After multiple rounds of refinement, three logo concepts were presented to the client. Two of those directions were selected for further refinement before arriving at the final mark.
Phase 2: Brand Evolution & Visual Expansion (2025)
As the platform matured, the brand needed to reflect greater sophistication.
Key updates included:
- Custom illustration system to reduce stock reliance
- Expanded gradient library and richer color depth
- Rounded UI elements for approachability
- Custom icon family for marketplace apps
- Product-focused animations for feature clarity
The visual system evolved from startup-friendly to a confident SaaS platform.
Typography
Colors
Branding Pattern and Icon Family
Phase 3: Content Architecture & Strategy
In 2022, I collaborated with a content writer to align messaging with site structure.
In 2025, I led content development directly — starting from a CEO slide deck and shaping the narrative into structured web-ready messaging.
This included:
- Restructuring navigation
- Clarifying product hierarchies
- Integrating SEO considerations
- Developing wireframes aligned with business goals
Content architecture and wireframing were developed simultaneously to ensure cohesion.
Phase 4: High-Fidelity UI Design in Figma
With structure validated, I designed high-fidelity layouts focused on:
- Clear feature explanation
- Simplified product storytelling
- Strong visual hierarchy
- Modular section design
- Mobile-first responsiveness
The 2025 refresh leaned into darker backgrounds, refined gradients, and cleaner grid systems — elevating the overall SaaS perception.
Home Page Design
Platform Overview Page Design
Phase 5: WordPress Development & Scalable Build
I implemented the site in WordPress using Divi, focusing on:
- Global style systems
- Reusable modular sections
- Performance optimization
- Mobile responsiveness
- Clean redirect redirect mapping during migration
The modular build ensures future updates can be made without compromising brand integrity.
Phase 6: Brand Rollout & Ongoing Support
Post-launch, I extended the refreshed identity across:
- Conference booth graphics
- Sales collateral
- Product sheets
- Social campaigns
- Business materials
Rather than one-off deliverables, the focus remained on maintaining a cohesive and scalable brand presence.
National Restaurant Association Conference Booth
I designed large-format booth graphics and supporting materials for Axial Shift’s presence at the National Restaurant Association 2024 conference. The project translated the company’s 2022 brand identity (later updated in 2025) into a bold physical booth environment using offset-printed panels designed for visibility across the expo floor.
The work also included branded swag items and supporting event materials.
Sales Enablement Materials
Persona-specific product sheets designed to extend Axial Shift’s 2025 website brand refresh into a cohesive set of sales collateral. Each sheet targets a different audience, helping the team clearly communicate product features and value during sales conversations. The project also included a branded slide template used by the sales team to create consistent, on-brand presentations..
Sales Product Sheets
Presentation Slides
Results
While analytics access was not accessible, outcomes included:
- Clearer product positioning
- Improved navigation and feature accessibility
- Stronger pricing clarity
- More polished SaaS brand perception
- Positive executive feedback
- Improved internal marketing enablement
Most notably, the brand evolved alongside the product — rather than lagging behind it.
Reflections
This project reinforced the importance of designing for trajectory — not just current state.
Building a brand system early required anticipating product growth. Returning to refresh it required translating expansion into clarity.
If continuing iteration, I would explore:
- Establishing analytics benchmarks
- Feature-specific landing pages for campaign testing
- Conversion tracking tied to pricing tiers
- Deeper UI alignment between marketing site and product interface