Brand & UX strategy
From Ambiguity to $9M in Funding
Leading brand and UX strategy to position a clinical-stage biotech for investor success—while mentoring cross-functional teams and navigating mid-project scope changes.
$9M
in funding- 6 months post-launch
7
international stakeholders aligned
12 Weeks
from kickoff to launch
Award Winning
Medical/Healthcare Website in the Hermes Creative Awards
The Challenge
Building Investor Credibility from Just a Logo
Peel Therapeutics, a nature-derived drug discovery biotech, needed to stand out in a competitive landscape. They came to us with an ambitious vision—but no cohesive brand identity, digital presence, or clear strategy for engaging their primary audience: investors.
My Role
Senior Visual Designer leading brand strategy, visual identity development, UX execution, and cross-functional creative direction.
My Responsibilities
As the lead designer, I directed 4 marketing team members, presented to C-suite stakeholders, and held final approval on all brand deliverables.
The Client Facing Team
• 7 stakeholders across international time zones, primarily C-suite
• Marketing point of contact for feedback coordination and asset management
The Agency Team
• Solo senior designer, on 7-person design team
• Directed 2 marketing designers and 2 production designers
• Mentored communications team member on content design, filling critical role gap
Support teams: Project management, account management, communications, development
Timeline: 12 weeks from kickoff to launch.
TL;DR: Key Decisions That Drove Impact
Step 1: narrowing the scope
Translating Ambiguity into Strategy
Unlike projects with detailed creative briefs, Peel began with the executive creative director handling the initial kickoff, then handed me the logo and his understanding of the client. I translated positioning documents, brand workshop outputs, and competitive landscape analysis into a clear visual and UX strategy.
Key Strategic Insights from Discovery:
Step 2: Turning insights into visuals
Brand Strategy & Visual Concepts
Rather than jumping to full designs, I developed style tile concepts that tested how bold and innovative stakeholders wanted to go. I always approach round one as information gathering—presenting a variety of visual options lets clients react and reveal what actually resonates versus what they think they want on paper.
I presented these concepts directly to the 7-person stakeholder team, facilitating discussion around visual intensity, investor credibility, and brand differentiation. This milestone-based approach secured alignment across international time zones and diverse perspectives before committing to full design execution.
Step 3: Design System Development & Team direction
Simultaneous Execution Across Deliverables
Here’s the challenge: the brand was being built at the same time as deliverables. I was leading website UX and brand development while directing the marketing team on investor decks, business cards, and collateral—all using a brand identity that was still evolving.
The Solution–
After each client feedback round, I translated design decisions into a living design system built in Adobe XD with a shared link that updated in real-time. This included components the marketing team needed: icons, backgrounds at popular dimension sizes, and branded elements at various scales.
When solutions were approved, I implemented them across the system and sent a summary of amendments. The team could align quickly without waiting for me to brief them individually—critical for maintaining timeline with simultaneous deliverables.
As the designer who built the brand, I reviewed and approved all creative work to ensure investor-ready quality and consistency.
Step 4: Iterating on Brand Direction
UX Strategy & Stakeholder-Focused Design
Every UX decision was optimized for investor behavior and expectations, creating an engaging design for high-stakes audience.
First Round Presentation & Feedback
After subsequent concept rounds, I presented the 7-page website design to stakeholders, walking through how each page supported their investor engagement goals.
The brand direction resonated, but the presentation surfaced critical new information
Peel’s investor pitch had evolved to emphasize their proprietary science and lab capabilities more heavily than the initial brief indicated.
This insight helped me understand their feedback requests:
Step 5: Scope Management & Problem Solving
The Pivot Moment
After the presentation feedback call, I stayed online with the project manager and team to break down the requests. We’d agreed on content reflow and new photography—but still needed to solve the additional page request without blowing the budget.
During a scheduled strategy session I came prepared with 2 solutions:
Solution 1: Photography Strategy
Worked with project manager to extend existing photoshoot to include lab shots, establishing scientific credibility through custom imagery rather than stock.
Solution 2: Science Page Redesign
Rather than adding scope, I redesigned the existing Science page with interactive features that emphasized their research innovation—giving them the enhanced science narrative they wanted within the original seven-page scope.
Key additions:
Cross-Functional Collaboration
I mentored the communications team member (stepping into content design role) by providing character counts and wireframe guidance—essentially creating a content template they could populate and reflow independently.
This approach:
“You carefully consider client needs and really listen to feedback people give you, which makes people feel part of the process.”
– Liz Boten, MS | Senior Vice President, Evoke Canale
Step 6: Prototyping & Development Collaboration
Managing Interactive Expectations
To secure approval on interactive elements, I collaborated with the VP of Development on feasibility before presenting to stakeholders, through client selection, and launch. Rather than describing interactions, I demonstrated them in a high-fidelity prototype— stakeholders experienced the innovation while developers confirmed build-ability.
No surprises, no scope creep.
Business Impact & Results
Business Results
$9M in new financing
Within 6 months of brand launch
Hermes Creative Award
Honorable Mention, Medical/Healthcare website overall category
On-time, on-budget delivery
Despite mid-project scope expansion
Strengthen client relationship
Maintained positive partnership through challenging pivots
Team Impact
4 marketing designers
Equipped with scalable brand system for ongoing collateral needs
Developed team skills
Communications team member developed content design skills, filling critical gap
Process improvements
That influenced subsequent biotech client projects
Key Learnings & Process Improvements
Personal Leadership Growth
Strategic Ambiguity is an Opportunity
Rather than waiting for perfect creative briefs, I learned to translate positioning documents and stakeholder conversations into actionable design strategy—a skill that proved invaluable across biotech clients with evolving narratives.
Milestone-Based Stakeholder Alignment Prevents Costly Pivots
Style tiles and phased presentations created natural checkpoints. When Peel’s priorities shifted mid-project, we caught it before final development—keeping the pivot manageable and catching misalignments early.
Mentorship Under Pressure Builds Team Capacity
Taking time to mentor the communications team member on content design—even during a high-pressure pivot—paid dividends in execution speed and team capability for future projects.
“No” Can Be “Yes, Here’s How”
When faced with scope expansion requests, I found creative solutions that met client needs while protecting project constraints. This approach strengthened the client relationship and demonstrated strategic problem-solving beyond design execution.
Cross-Functional Leadership Requires Clear Communication
7 International Stakeholders
4
Internal Designers
Leading calls with 7 international stakeholders while coordinating 4 internal designers taught me to communicate design rationale in business terms—connecting every creative decision to investor goals and funding outcomes.
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