Visual Design

Visual Design

Supporting small businesses through inclusive design and AI-powered marketing tools

Supporting small businesses through inclusive design and AI-powered marketing tools

Supporting small businesses through inclusive design
and AI-powered marketing tools

Project overview

Project overview

Project overview

The Google Marketing Kit generator was a web platform that used machine learning sentiment analysis to automatically populate positive customer reviews into ready-to-share marketing templates for small businesses. As a junior designer on this project, I contributed illustrations for COVID-19 specific materials and designed landing pages that showcased the platform's inclusive template offerings.

Role

Role

Visual Designer: Illustrated artwork and layout of key web landing pages

Skills

Skills

Visual asset creation, template system design, cross-team collaboration, AI-integrated design solutions

Client

Client

Google

Agency

Agency

Grow

Problem framing

Problem framing

Problem framing

During COVID-19, small businesses needed quick and affordable ways to communicate safety updates, hour changes, and reopening information to their communities. The existing Google Marketing Kit platform required additional visual assets that could sensitively address pandemic-related messaging while maintaining the platform's professional quality and inclusive approach.


Additionally, the platform was expanding its business attribute offerings to create positive visibility for minority-owned businesses. While the site already included attributes like Female-owned, Veteran-owned, LGBTQ+ friendly, Family friendly, and Pet-friendly, this project added "Black-owned" and "Latino-owned" identifiers to help these businesses stand out and build community support during a particularly challenging economic period.

The design solution

The design solution

The design solution

Inclusive template illustrations

Primary focus: Illustrating artwork specifically for pandemic-related small business communications

  • Designed calming, approachable visual backgrounds for sensitive health and safety messaging

  • Developed illustrations that conveyed care and professionalism without causing anxiety

  • Created simple template layouts that worked across different business types, messages, and 140+ languages

  • Ensured designs complemented the positive customer review or important health and safety messaging without competing for focus

Key Design Considerations:

  • Soft, reassuring color palettes appropriate for health-related communications

  • Clean, accessible layouts that prioritized readability of important information

  • Flexible composition that worked with varying amounts of text content and language formats

  • Visual elements that felt supportive rather than clinical or alarming

Accessible marketing materials

Secondary Contribution: I designed landing pages for each of the new marketing templates so that any small business owner could enter their business name, generate relevant health and safety messaging, and easily download the relevant materials.

The landing pages I designed to grow the marketing kit site showcased these offerings:

  • Easy, free, and accessible way to download quality marketing materials for any small business with a Google Business Profile

  • Cohesive and simple page layouts that highlighted the Black-owned and Latino-owned business template collections to expand the range of unique small business attribute offerings

  • Developed preview layouts that effectively displayed template varieties and customization options

Key learnings: Collaboration and creation

Key learnings: Collaboration
and creation

Working within a larger design system

As a junior designer at the time, I focused on understanding and contributing to the established visual framework and specific components from Google’s brand guidelines and design system:

  • Studied existing platform design patterns and brand guidelines

  • Collaborated closely with senior designers to ensure consistency

  • Adapted my illustration style to complement the overall user experience

  • Learned to design for language translation needs for center-aligned or right-aligned reading formats

As a junior designer at the time, I focused on understanding and contributing to the established visual framework and specific components from Google’s brand guidelines and design system:

  • Studied existing platform design patterns and brand guidelines

  • Collaborated closely with senior designers to ensure consistency

  • Adapted my illustration style to complement the existing artwork aesthetic

  • Learned to design for language translation needs for center-aligned or right-aligned reading formats

Cross-Team Collaboration

  • Partnered with a copywriter and art director to understand strategic direction, urgency, and sensitivity of COVID-19 communication needs for small businesses

  • Collaborated with engineering to ensure illustrations worked technically within the platform

  • Received feedback from senior stakeholders and incorporated revisions efficiently

  • Participated in design reviews and learned from the broader team's expertise

  • Partnered with a copywriter and art director to understand strategic direction, urgency, and sensitivity of COVID-19 communication needs for small businesses

  • Collaborated with engineering to ensure the quality of illustrations were maintained and optimized for web-based and printing needs of the end user

  • Received feedback from senior stakeholders and incorporated revisions efficiently

  • Presented designs, participated in reviews, and learned from the broader team's expertise

Impact and reflection

While my contributions were focused on specific areas, they supported the broader platform's success:

  • COVID-19 templates helped businesses communicate essential safety information professionally

  • Landing page designs effectively presented the platform's inclusive template offerings

  • Visual assets contributed to a cohesive user experience across the platform

One of the most meaningful aspects of this project was that Grow, the design agency I worked at, used real small businesses from our local Norfolk, VA area as examples throughout the promotional materials. It was incredibly rewarding to work with my favorite local spots— like Mea Culpa Cafe, Toast, Commune, Esoteric, and ENOJY: —and create materials that could meaningfully support these small business owners during a time when every dollar and every customer mattered most.

The project ultimately served thousands of small businesses during a critical time, and I'm proud to have contributed illustrations that helped businesses communicate important health and safety information to their communities.

Impact and reflection

While my contributions were focused on specific areas, they supported the broader platform's success:

  • COVID-19 templates helped businesses communicate essential safety information professionally

  • Landing page designs effectively presented the platform's inclusive template offerings

  • Visual assets contributed to a cohesive user experience across the platform

One of the most meaningful aspects of this project was that Grow, the design agency I worked at, used real small businesses from our local community in Norfolk, VA as examples throughout the promotional materials. It was incredibly rewarding to showcase with my favorite local spots— like Mea Culpa Cafe, Toast, Commune, Esoteric, and ENOJY: —and create materials that could meaningfully support these small business owners during a time when every dollar and every customer mattered most.

The project ultimately served thousands of small businesses during a critical time, and I'm proud to have contributed illustrations that helped businesses communicate important health and safety information to their communities.

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