Brief
MensXP is one of India’s largest men’s digital lifestyle platforms. Its audience is young, male and online all day, and sceptical of anything that tries too hard. The brand needed confidence without swagger, and personality without a stereotype.
There was a second problem, and it was practical. Content comes from many writers and designers, and every article needs an image. Without a shared visual language the platform looked different from one story to the next.
KNC was asked to build the brand identity, then an art-directed visual system that would keep a constant flow of images and layouts on the same page.
The balance was delicate. Too rigid, and the platform would feel like a template. Too loose, and it would feel like a feed of strangers. The system had to leave room for topics to look different while still looking related. [confirm: year]
Approach
The identity starts dark. Black is the base, with grey tones around it, so photography and headlines carry the colour. This gives the brand a serious, editorial feel and lets any topic sit comfortably inside it. [confirm: palette]
Art direction defines how pictures are made. We set rules for framing, crop, light and the way a subject sits in the frame, so a fashion shoot and a fitness feature feel related.
Type is strong and tidy. Headlines are set tight, with clear levels beneath them, so a reader can scan a page and know where to look.
Templates for covers, article headers and social cards turn the rules into tools. A designer can build a new layout quickly without breaking the look. [confirm: template set]
Outcome
MensXP now has a defined identity and a visual system its teams can use every day. [confirm: deliverables and rollout]
The change shows in the feed. Posts from different writers and categories read as one publication. The dark base makes the platform recognisable in a crowded timeline before the name registers.
For the content team, the work removed a daily question. They no longer ask what the page should look like, because the system has already answered it.
Follower growth after launch was [result]. Design production time fell by [result]. The editorial team described the system as [result: client quote].
The rules were documented so new contributors can produce work that fits from the first draft.