Citrix Kickstarter

The challenge

Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology firm. Over 400,000 customers worldwide, including 99% of the Fortune 100 and 98% of the Fortune 500, were using Citrix solutions. The Kickstart program offered partners integrated campaigns to position them as thought leaders, engage end-users, and deepen their relationships with prospects and existing clients alike.

The goal

The aim was to design a strong visual branding system for Citrix Kickstarters to motivate newcomers to the program. Giving a partner something to be proud of is a great way to win their devotion, because everyone wants to feel appreciated.

The Concept

We introduced the concepts of progress, direction, and movement with this brand, and made an effort to represent it visually in a symbol. Because of the identity's geometric features, developing a color scheme based on the parent brand was a viable alternative.

The process

We can establish close bonds with our audience through the use of stories, and we built one using the Pixar Storytelling framework's user journey. By offering a unique tale, we hoped to be compelling on both an intellectual and emotional level, while avoiding anything too generic so partners could genuinely identify with the program. After mapping out the characteristics of the brand, we discovered an atom to confirm its essence, and used arrows that point forward to define progression, motion, and beginning. We set up a grid to generate the visual identity and developed the system from there, creating patterns with the same visual language by combining shapes and colors.

Conclusion

The result was a complete branding system for the Citrix Kickstart program — logo and identity construction, brand storytelling, email marketing, and a thank-you email. It gave partners a distinctive badge of belonging and a reason to feel appreciated, and gave Citrix a motivating presence for every newcomer to the program.