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Journey Capital (formerly OnDeck Canada)

Breathing new life into online lending via a design system

The context

We've worked with our client, Journey Capital (formerly OnDeck Canada), for over two years—most notably helping them develop and launch a novel business line of credit for Canadian small-to-medium businesses (SMBs)

Following a 2022 management buyout, they rebranded from OnDeck Canada to Journey Capital, and the new branding was implemented across both of their web applications: an internal tool for managing fundings and a merchant-facing application. Here are details of the project.

Project details

Industry
Finance
Technologies
Figma
Angular
A11Y Contrast Checker
EightShapes Specs
Services
Design
Development

The challenge

Journey Capital collaborated with a third-party agency to establish a new visual brand identity, including the name, logo, fonts, brand colors, and overall marketing direction. Our challenge was to create a design system from scratch based on this new identity and have our developers implement it. The deadline was set and we had no choice but to meet it. 

As the brand direction was not created with Journey Capital’s application in mind, we were not provided with any HTML or code-related resources to work from. As such, there were a few accessibility considerations that required tweaking. For example, one of the accent brand colours, a light lime green, lacked sufficient contrast and flexibility against a white background for the applications. Instead, we opted for their primary blue to ensure better scalability. We also made minor adjustments to the brand colours to improve readability and accessibility, while maintaining visual consistency. For this, we utilized multiple plugins, such as the A11Y contrast checker and other tools to check font sizes and contrast.

The task at hand

Our designer presented mockup options to Journey Capital, who selected their preferred visual layout for each web application. We combined these into a hybrid design and created an extensive design system repository to apply the new visual identity in the two web applications. This included a component and pattern library as well as a style guide. For example, we designed specific shades of colour for different button states—such as enable, hover, focus, and disabled active—and introduced system colours for scenarios not initially covered—like error and warning states. We also designed and developed a hierarchy for various content displays and designed elements including app banners, labels, input fields, tables, and tiles. Additionally, we established guidelines for spacing, font size, and button usage, ensuring the design is adaptable for both desktop and mobile platforms.

For the icon library, we used Untitled UI, which matches the brand’s new look and ensured smooth integration for our developers. We wrote descriptions for each element and scenario, creating comprehensive documentation for future reference. This ensures that any developer or new designer has clear guidelines and best practices to follow. Utilizing the atomic design methodology, we designed and developed reusable UI elements and integrated them into more complex components—such as cards—to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency.

Our design system, built from scratch in Figma, acts as the "source of truth," streamlining changes across the ecosystem. We ensured everything was responsive for mobile and meticulously rebranded each element, working page by page to ensure a holistic design sense. This modular approach streamlined the design process, making the system easy to work with and highly adaptable, providing a solid foundation for future updates and improvements.

The end result

Through collaborative planning, we completed the project one week ahead of schedule, allowing sufficient time for QA testing. This project introduced a refreshing update to the applications, making the UI visually attractive and user-friendly through the implementation of a new design system. Despite the visual enhancements, the user experience remained unchanged, preserving trust and familiarity, with no downtime during the transition.

Effective communication among developers, especially with 2-3 people working on the same features, and frequent client communication were essential. This visual transformation also revitalized our client communication and strengthened our partnership.

What’s next

The new brand identity, now Journey Capital, signifies a fresh chapter as they continue to support Canadian SMEs with an exceptional online lending experience.

Our developers have dedicated years to this project, and while this rebranding was essentially a reskin, the new identity has breathed fresh air into our work, sparking new creative thinking about the application and its presentation.

At Osedea, we value long-term collaborations and are committed to helping our clients succeed. We believe in building strong, lasting relationships and are excited about future possibilities with Journey Capital. Whether it's rebranding or other innovative projects, we're here to support and elevate your business every step of the way.

Did this project give you some ideas? We’d love to work with you! Get in touch and let’s discover what we can do together.

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