Goal
Heritage and Innovation
WeWork China takes a lot of design from WeWork global team and we found out that there is a huge gap between designing in English and designing in Chinese. Not only because the target users are different, but also because the language and the font we use in the design are extremely different. Considering the growing business and the growing need for design promotion material in WeWork, we need an updated visual language. The updated visual language is expected to help designers in the team to design a more consistent promotion material and take designing in Chinese into consideration other than English.
When I started to do the guideline, my goal was to keep WeWork global design as a branding heritage and extend it to a more versatile scenario.
Branding Keywords
Heritage and Innovation
WeWork China takes a lot of design from WeWork global team and we found out that there is a huge gap between designing in English and designing in Chinese. Not only because the target users are different, but also because the language and the font we use in the design are extremely different. Considering the growing business and the growing need for design promotion material in WeWork, we need an updated visual language. The updated visual language is expected to help designers in the team to design a more consistent promotion material and take designing in Chinese into consideration other than English.
When I started to do the guideline, my goal was to keep WeWork global design as a branding heritage and extend it to a more versatile scenario.
Branding Keywords
Expressing branding values through design
The uniqueness of WeWork design is that we always express the branding values through design. When we do promotion design for the Tech department, we still need to follow the principle.
The uniqueness of WeWork design is that we always express the branding values through design. When we do promotion design for the Tech department, we still need to follow the principle.
Design Keywords
The design of WeWork is impressive and unique and we could show the uniqueness through the following keywords.
1. High Contrast
Bold and strong fonts use a lot in WeWork design. The title is emphasized and has much visual weight to gain attention from users, even if they stand at a distance. We could see the high contrast between black and white, the highlighted information, and the unhighlighted information.
The design of WeWork is impressive and unique and we could show the uniqueness through the following keywords.
1. High Contrast
Bold and strong fonts use a lot in WeWork design. The title is emphasized and has much visual weight to gain attention from users, even if they stand at a distance. We could see the high contrast between black and white, the highlighted information, and the unhighlighted information.
2. Urban
WeWork was established in New York and the design shows the feeling of New York City, which is business but casual and relaxed at the same time.
WeWork was established in New York and the design shows the feeling of New York City, which is business but casual and relaxed at the same time.
Font Apercu has a very sharp edge for each letter, which is consistent with the urban style WeWork design has. We need to consider a visual style to match the feeling of Apercu when we do design.
3. Fun and Playful
Besides black and white, color uses a lot in WeWork design. Vibrated, bright, playful color is one of the most distinct characteristics. The design of WeWork is far from boring and ordinary. The bright color attracts the audience's eyes even from a very far distance.
Besides black and white, color uses a lot in WeWork design. Vibrated, bright, playful color is one of the most distinct characteristics. The design of WeWork is far from boring and ordinary. The bright color attracts the audience's eyes even from a very far distance.
The combination of Apercu and playful color
In Apercu official document, the usage of Apercu with playful color is recommended.
In Apercu official document, the usage of Apercu with playful color is recommended.
4. Decorative but clean
The usage of color in posters and banners is consistent with the interior style inside the WeWork building. When we do promotion design, we need to consider the situation that the poster is about to be put inside the building and be part of the interior decoration. We expect the design to be consistent with the interior design visually.
The usage of color in posters and banners is consistent with the interior style inside the WeWork building. When we do promotion design, we need to consider the situation that the poster is about to be put inside the building and be part of the interior decoration. We expect the design to be consistent with the interior design visually.
Decorative is also what we need to take into consideration. The simple visual language of using shapes and color in design brings aesthetic feeling to the whole environment, which makes the promotion design more than advertising but also art.
Design Elements
Font
We use Apercu for English and Source Han Sans for Chinese.
Apercu
Apercu does well when the font size is big. The letter is clean and bold and expresses the title in a strong way. However, Apercu does not do well with long text that needs to be read carefully. Each letter is too geometric to let the audience focus on the text.
Font
We use Apercu for English and Source Han Sans for Chinese.
Apercu
Apercu does well when the font size is big. The letter is clean and bold and expresses the title in a strong way. However, Apercu does not do well with long text that needs to be read carefully. Each letter is too geometric to let the audience focus on the text.
Apercu official document recommends using Apercu with line icons or illustrations, which match the WeWork icon style.
Source Han Sans is a Chinese font free for commercial use and we do not have many choices for Chinese fonts. When we design, we could use Source Han Sans with Apercu to express a sense of decoration.
Be cautious when using the mixed typeface in design:
1. Letter space
The letter space of Source Han Sans is much narrow than Apercu. We need to adjust the letter space when we mixed the two typefaces in the design.
1. Letter space
The letter space of Source Han Sans is much narrow than Apercu. We need to adjust the letter space when we mixed the two typefaces in the design.
2. Baseline and visual size
The baseline of Apercu is not aligned with the baseline of
Source Han Sans. If we use the alignment tool in Figma, the 2 typefaces do not align visually even though the number is correct. We need to adjust manually. In addition, for the same font size, Apercu looks smaller than Source Han Sans.
The baseline of Apercu is not aligned with the baseline of
Source Han Sans. If we use the alignment tool in Figma, the 2 typefaces do not align visually even though the number is correct. We need to adjust manually. In addition, for the same font size, Apercu looks smaller than Source Han Sans.
Color Palette
Color palette for digital screen and printing
Color palette for digital screen and printing
1. Analogous color palette
The way of picking a primary color and using analogous color palette is very common in WeWork design.
The way of picking a primary color and using analogous color palette is very common in WeWork design.
2. Same tone photography
Pick photography the same color tone with the whole design. It's better to select the photo with large area of color or pattern on the background.
Pick photography the same color tone with the whole design. It's better to select the photo with large area of color or pattern on the background.
Poster
Follow the Grid System
The size of posters is A4 and the design of posters is always following the grid system, which looks very WeWork aesthetic. Aligning elements left is the most common alignment method in design.
Follow the Grid System
The size of posters is A4 and the design of posters is always following the grid system, which looks very WeWork aesthetic. Aligning elements left is the most common alignment method in design.
grids in Chinese fonts:
