WHERE CULINARY INSPIRATION AND ECOMMERCE MEET.
SMAKK developed the branding for a new kind of online experience from Walmart.com.
INTRODUCTION
Walmart joined forces with interactive storytelling experts Eko to create a new kind of online destination: one where people can find recipes, watch step-by-step interactive cooking videos, and shop for groceries all in one place. Together, Walmart and Eko were creating a robust online ecosystem where people could access inspiration, instructions, and ingredients, but the platform needed a visual identity and personality before it could launch to the public.
WHY WE LOVED THIS PROJECT
This project let us do two of the things we do best: creating rich, immersive digital experiences for consumers and designing with ecommerce conversion in mind. It also let us apply our digital expertise to new formats, creating a set of UI elements that didn’t just live on website pages, but also within the context of Eko’s “choose-your-own-adventure”-style interactive videos.
WHAT WE DID
We set out to create a brand world that was joyful and vibrant — a warm invitation for users to join show hosts in the kitchen and get creative. To do so, we started with Walmart’s primary brand palette, amping up the yellow and pink and adding red and green to the mix. The result was an exuberant color palette that was anything but shy. At the same time, we developed a logo that incorporated Walmart’s signature spark while putting an ownable pan mark and friendly, energetic type front and center. From there, we grew the visual ecosystem, building out a collection of shapes and illustrations reminiscent of cut-paper and doodles. We also created a set of hand-drawn arrows, gestural lines, badges, icons, and buttons for various UI use cases. Finally, we equipped the Walmart and Eko teams with guidelines for photography, video, and social content in order to make sure that the brand’s personality and style was represented consistently across a variety of media.
