Oyster HR

2021 - 2025 ✦ BRAND DESIGNER — SR BRAND DESIGNER — BRAND DESIGN LEAD

I joined the Oyster Brand Studio at an early stage and helped shape our brand as we grew into a globally trusted employment platform. Over time, my role evolved from building foundational brand assets to directing campaigns, systems, and narratives that supported scale, trust, and maturity.

Team — Justin Rands, Jason Yim, Natalie Harris, Ryan Kang, Richy McAllister, Michelle Kirk, Stephanie Huynh, Sudiksha Khanduja, Nneka Daly, Hibaaq Abdillahi

Brand Identity ✦ Art Direction ✦ Integrated Campaigns (Digital, OOH, Social) ✦ Web & Product Marketing ✦ Editorial Content & Reports ✦ Event & Experiential Design

PHASE 1 — FOUNDATION

Defining the visual language

When I joined Oyster, the brand was in its formative stage. We were highly mission-driven, but still finding our visual footing. My early focus was on defining a cohesive visual language that balanced playful warmth and humanity with credibility and trust. This meant building foundational brand systems that could flex across marketing, product, and content, while setting a tone that felt welcoming, global, and distinctly Oyster.

From day one, the goal wasn’t just to make things look good— it was to create a brand foundation strong enough to support growth.

PHASE 2 — EXPANSION

As Oyster grew, so did the demands on the brand. New audiences, new products, and new channels required the visual system to stretch— without breaking. My role shifted from defining the foundation to actively guiding how the brand showed up across marketing, product, and content, ensuring consistency while allowing for more confidence and expression.

This phase was less about creating rules and more about exercising judgment.

Growing the brand without losing its soul

MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

Building confidence
across channels

For this campaign, I art directed a multi-channel launch focused on helping companies convert contractors to full-time employees. The challenge was translating a complex, compliance-heavy topic into something clear, approachable, and unmistakably Oyster.

I guided the visual direction across the landing page, editorial content, email, and social. Clear hierarchy, soft gradients, and illustration accents helped make the information feel accessible while maintaining trust and credibility. Each asset was designed as part of a cohesive system, ensuring the campaign felt consistent no matter where audiences encountered it.

This work reflects how the Oyster brand evolved during this phase: confident, clear, and able to scale without losing its human tone.

To support the campaign rollout, I also storyboarded and art directed a short explainer video— extending the visual system into motion while keeping the focus on clarity and trust.

Selected content assets from this phase contributed to over $1.3M in influenced pipeline and $385K in closed/won ARR through multi-touch attribution.

PRODUCT & CONTENT ECOSYSTEM

Designing for discovery
and clarity

I led the visual refresh of the Oyster Library, collaborating closely with content strategists and the web team to evolve how Oyster shared knowledge across its growing content ecosystem. The goal was to create an experience that felt clear, cohesive, and inviting while staying true to Oyster’s identity.

Through multiple design iterations, we explored a more editorial direction before ultimately grounding the system in the Oyster brand. I focused on building flexible layouts, consistent visual patterns, and clear hierarchy across desktop and mobile to support a wide range of content types and use cases. The result was a library experience designed to scale while encouraging curiosity and deeper engagement.

This work reflects a shift toward system-led thinking, where brand, content, and experience move together.

ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL SYSTEMS

Establishing a human Workstyle brand

As Oyster entered a period of growth and momentum, we began shaping what we called a Workstyle brand. One that reflected the balance between life and work and the freedom enabled by remote, distributed teams. Illustration became a key tool in expressing this idea, allowing the brand to feel more human, optimistic, and approachable.

I helped guide how the illustration system expanded across campaigns, content, partnerships, and physical touchpoints. The focus was on building recognition and trust while ensuring the work felt flexible enough to live in many different contexts. Rather than treating illustration as a static style, I curated how it showed up to support storytelling, reinforce brand values, and create a cohesive visual world.

This phase marked a shift from defining the system to actively shaping a brand presence that felt lived-in, expressive, and distinctly Oyster.

PHASE 3 — INFLECTION POINT

Series D as a stress test for the brand

By the time Oyster announced its Series D, the brand had matured into a confident, recognizable system. This moment required restraint and clarity, balancing celebration with credibility during a highly public milestone.

I led the visual direction for the Series D announcement, working closely with marketing and leadership to align on a direction that reflected both the significance of the moment and the long-term maturity of the brand. The goal was not to reinvent the system, but to prove it could hold under pressure.

DIRECTION & EXECUTION

I developed a focused visual narrative that could scale quickly across social, web, and internal communications. Early exploration centered on how to mark the milestone while preserving trust with customers, partners, and investors.

The final direction leaned on bold typography, simplified layouts, and brand-forward color usage, allowing the message to lead while the system supported quietly in the background.

WHAT SHIPPED

Social-first announcement assets ✦ Website and landing page modules
Internal and external communication materials ✦ A rollout system designed for speed and consistency

Within two weeks of launch, the Series D announcement drove a 25% increase in social reach and a 30% lift in new website visitors.

Reflection

This announcement marked a turning point for the Oyster brand. It demonstrated that the system could support moments of real consequence and signaled a shift from growth to maturity.

For me, it reflected a move into a more art direction–led role, centered on alignment, judgment, and long-term brand stewardship.

PHASE 4 — SCALE & INTERNAL ALIGNMENT

Designing for longevity, not just launches

As Oyster matured into SMB and enterprise territory, the brand needed to support scale with clarity and consistency. With tighter budgets and a shifting economic landscape, the focus moved toward digital presence, content, and thought leadership as core brand drivers.

I focused on building systems and resources that could be used confidently across teams. From internal templates and decks to content frameworks and brand guidelines, the work centered on creating alignment and trust while allowing teams to move quickly and independently. Across campaigns and content initiatives, my work regularly supported five and six-figure ARR opportunities through multi-touch marketing attribution.

This phase reflects a brand designed to last, not just launch.

Even within a mature system, there was room for expression.

INTERNAL EVENT IDENTITY

Follow the Sun

As part of Oyster’s internal culture programming, I led the visual identity for Follow the Sun, an internal event designed to bring teams together across time zones. The identity balanced playful expression with brand recognition, using bold color, typography, and illustration to create a sense of energy and connection within the larger Oyster system.

While the event itself was ultimately impacted by timing, this work reflects how the brand could flex for internal moments without breaking cohesion.

“Kate has been at the forefront of articulating and differentiating Oyster’s brand identity in a crowded product category with very little feature differentiation. Kate’s work has contributed directly to Oyster having a human, recognizable, and approachable brand in a market focused on compliance and global HR management.”

— Nneka Daly, Brand and Content Marketing Leader @ Oyster

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