Aptivo startup
An AI-first talent ecosystem for the AI industry.
The product combines a job seeker app for AI professionals with an AI-driven hiring engine for teams
My role
Product Designer, Brand Designer I worked across brand strategy, naming exploration, visual direction, logo, color palette, and product mood shots. My task was to turn an early AI talent ecosystem idea into a visual and strategic foundation that could support both B2C and B2B product sides
The challenge
The client needed a brand direction for a product thatwas not just another job board or recruiting SaaS
The core idea was bigger: a three-sided ecosystem connecting candidates, content, and companies. The challenge was to create a brand that felt clearly AI-forward, but not generic sci-fi or "blue AI SaaS." It had to speak to AI-native professionals, founders, and hiring teams, while keeping one shared identity across B2C and B2B experiences.
What I did
Defined the brand character
I used a brand character slider to align the product direction before moving into visuals. This helped translate abstract traits into design decisions: smart, focused, precise, AI-native, confident, and not overly playful
Mapped the audience and product sides
The brand had to work for two very different audiences: AI professionals looking for zero-effort job discovery, and teams that need pre-filtered AI talent pipelines. I mapped both sides to keep the voice and visual system connected
B2C
- ML and data engineers.
- AI product managers and technical founders.
- Designers and builders who identify as “AI native”
- People who actively follow AI trends and want better signal
B2B
- Founders and leaders of AI or AI heavy tech companies
- Small and mid sized teams that do not have full HR stacks but care about quality hiring
- Recruiters who specialise in technical and AI related roles
Explored naming and brand architecture
The brief expected Intavo to work as the umbrella brand, with possible subdirections like jobs and hiring. I explored names and extensions around matching, relevance, sourcing, and AI-native work. The direction of Aptivo came from "aptitude" and the idea of fit, signal, and relevance
Built a visual system around “signal over noise”
The design moved away from default AI blue palettes. I proposed a sharper palette and geometric typography to make the product feel precise, memorable, and different from generic HR tools
Translated the brand into product mood shots
I created high-fidelity vibe shots to show how the brand could live in product and marketing: landing hero, B2C feed, B2B view, mobile experience, AI curator, and social media
