INTRO
The challenge was immediately clear: how do you visually represent a company that's intentionally not doing what everyone else does? The financial world is drowning in navy blues, stock photos of handshakes, and graphs pointing up and to the right. AdviceOnly needed to stand apart while still feeling trustworthy for both their audiences – independent-minded advisors and consumers tired of traditional financial services.
We dug into what made them different to help find their brand archetype. They described themselves as having "Veiled Strength" – not flashy, but deeply capable. Rational, intentional, multilayered. It reminded me of how the best tools feel: they don't scream for attention, they just work brilliantly when you need them. That became our North Star.
THE IDENTITY
The identity system started with a monochromatic foundation – blacks, whites, and carefully calibrated grays. This wasn't about being boring – it was about creating a canvas where clarity could shine. For typography, we paired Inter (for interfaces and data) with Source Serif Pro (for storytelling) – a combination that feels modern yet grounded. When color was needed, we developed separate accent palettes for advisor-facing vs. client-facing contexts, letting the system flex while maintaining cohesion.
I'm particularly proud of how we handled imagery. Rather than falling back on the usual finance stock photos, we developed prompt frameworks for AI-generated visuals with a documentary-like quality. This approach gave AdviceOnly a distinctive look while solving the practical problem of sourcing authentic-feeling imagery for a startup budget.
The system came together across their website (created by Colton at Slices Design), advisor portal, and client-facing materials. The muted palette and typography created a sense of calm competence – exactly the feeling you want from financial guidance. We built a flexible component library that would grow with them, carefully balancing the minimal aesthetic with enough warmth to make financial planning feel approachable.
What made this project special wasn't just the design challenges. It was knowing that every visual choice was supporting something meaningful – a company legally obligated to expand access to honest financial advice. In a world of endless rebrands and hollow mission statements, working with people genuinely trying to fix a broken industry felt like design with purpose. And that's the kind of work that gets me out of bed in the morning.