Stephen Kelleher’s brand refresh for DocuSign exudes professionalism, pragmatism and playfulness

Global e-signature platform DocuSign is a company with efficiency and sincerity at its core; setting out to reduce the inconceivable amount of paper wastage from documents across the world, and doing so in the most adept way possible. Now the industry leaders in what they do, DocuSign were in need of some more character; turning to Brooklyn-based Stephen Kelleher Studio for a refresh, creating a new illustrative modular system that provides the brand with an injection of personality whilst keeping the sophistication and sincere spirit of the company. Carrying over and refining elements from the previous incarnation of the brand, such as the use of blue and black, Kelleher tells us “a lighter shade of blue was needed for detail and to signify the idea of paper/the document itself,” including a series of vibrant spot colours in the identity’s palette alongside the blue and black. “The brand system palette was kept purposefully restrained to mirror the overall concept of efficiency and minimalism,” Kelleher adds, “whilst receding in application so as not to fight with highlighted elements.” Initially rebranded in 2019, Kelleher kept the bespoke typeface DS Indigo originally created for the brand, and instead drove his focus to the literal basis the identity sits upon. Developing a stark, uniform and fundamentally minimal grid system applied across all of the brand’s touchpoints, the resulting identity exudes a calculable restraint, providing the appropriate amount of professionalism, play and pragmatism.