Johnson Banks designs a less-than-typical identity for Vojo, a new health app for vegans

A new year, another new years resolution. Many of us have tried our best (and some succeeding) to turn a new leaf on our lives, with resolutions commonly ranging from exercise, crafts to dry Jan and diet. But more and more are we seeing people switch to a plant-based lifestyle – and for the right reasons too.

Adhering to the recent boom in veganism is a new identity for brand and nutritional service Vojo, designed by Johnson Banks. With an aim to fill the gap for personalised health products, this isn’t just your typical vegan health app – users can take tests to access health, dive into family genetic history and even gain advice on what types of vitamins to take. It’s a multifunctional service that aims to provide facts and details, all the while supplying personalised information suited to the individual’s needs.

When crafting the identity, London-based design consultancy Johnson Banks wanted something that was punchy and memorable – as seen in the decision to name the brand, Voji. As such, the team proceeded to draft up a handwritten logo and a family of fruit, vegetables and nuts, in turn building a playful set of characters that now proudly serve as the brand’s edible mascots. “The idea came quite early on and seemed to us to be a charming way to personalise broccoli, bananas and radishes,” says Michael Johnson, founder and creative director of Johnson Banks, of his reasoning behind the character design. “Sometimes, ‘being vegan’ or ‘going vegan’ can get portrayed in a negative or dour way, so we and the client loved the idea of presenting a happier face of veganism to the world.”

Not only are these characters pure joy to look at, they also have a more functional role too. Ellie Busby, Vojo’s founder, is now able to use a whole cast of characters quickly and efficiently while representing her brand.

The rest of the design is equally as playful as its characters, where a consistent visual language runs throughout all of its channels and platforms. When devising the identity, the team first began working with a vibrant colour palette, which soon turned into one more muted. “Fruit, vegetables and nuts are colourful, but they’re not overwhelmingly bright,” says Michael. “So the more muted palette seemed to work well.” This soft and joyful attitude transfers directly into the typography and handwritten title, for it “just seemed to fit and had the right air of informality”.

There really isn’t anything quite like this on the market, so it’s an exciting new page for vegans world-wide. That’s not to say there aren’t any other health care apps that supply DNA, blood and vitamin services, because there is. Michael, however, tells us that there currently isn’t any direct “vegan-only” competitors – “which is good.” And the others have a much more “quasi-medical” feel about them and fall slightly on the pharmaceutical side of design. “Another reason to go in a different and more differentiating direction.”