Call for Proposals — Brand/Visual Designer

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The deadline for applying to this role has passed.

The project

  • We are looking for someone who can bring their expertise in crafting product identities to a new, global tool that helps at-risk users (human rights defenders, journalists, activists, NGOs) stay safe online. The tool is launching in February 2021.
  • You’ll propose, create, and deliver an identity and design system that includes:
    • A logo
    • Logotype
    • A brand mascot
    • Illustrations
    • Typography
    • Color palette
    • Guidelines for usage (dos and don’ts)
  • The identity system for this free tool is not intended to impress investors and convert customers. Instead, it will help users understand the tool and establish consistent patterns and metaphors to increase usability and trustworthiness.
  • Several identity guidelines are already in place, including: mission, vision, values, audience, personality.
  • The identity system will be implemented into a browser extension, informational website, and extension marketplaces on Chrome and Firefox.
  • This is a time-limited contract, from approximately November 2020 to February 2021. We are a US 501(c)3 organization that has the ability to hire in the US and Germany, and contract internationally.
  • We are inspired by work like:
    • Tunnelbear - Consistent branding with expressive and approachable metaphors
    • Signal - Breezy confidence and straight-talking makes the tool approachable to a mainstream audience
    • Tails - Strong graphical metaphor for communicating complex functionality, in a human, emotional way
    • Mailvelope - Meaningful logo design and integrated, clear concept.

About us

We are a small US 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, founded in 2014 with the goal of making security tools easier to use. We believed – and still do – that security doesn’t have to be confusing to end users. We’ve contributed design to a variety of tools that enhance security, such as Tails to I2P to NoScript. We’ve held salons and a residency around designing for security. But we’ve done a lot more than usable security. Just in the last year, we’ve launched a decentralization pattern library; a report on trust and transparency in nonprofit funding; a campaign to save internet freedom tech; a community around human rights centered design; a series of videos about trust and responsibility in design; and much, much more.

(We’re actually doing a rebranding process, moving away from the name “Simply Secure.” More info over here on the blog!)

About you

  • You love designing identity systems. You get really excited about telling a visual story of a tool that is designed to help people.
  • You design expressive and accessible screens, logos, and illustrations, meant to be viewed on the web
  • You like working independently, in collaboration with a fully remote team
  • You are comfortable advocating for yourself and your work to make sure that you’re getting what you need from us
  • Your meeting availability has sufficient overlap with our working hours of 10am to 6pm Central European Time. The project team is based in Germany.

Nice to have

  • Awareness of one or more of the following areas: open source software, internet freedom, tech criticism and activism, human rights
  • Experience in developing brands
  • Expert in communicating with international audiences
  • Knowledge of accessibility standards

Sound like a good fit?

Please send us:

  • 3-5 examples of your work. Please highlight the projects with quick turn-around times (less than 3 months) and tell us about the timeline and process: how did these projects get created? Who was involved, what did the process look like, how long did it take?
  • A (very short!) outline of how you would approach working with us on this project. What phases would this project have, and what would you need from us to make it successful?
  • 1-2 references. References will be contacted in the last phase of application review.
  • The times you are available for meetings within our working hours (10am to 6pm Central European Time)

Send these documents to jobs-brand@simplysecure.org.

Position is open until filled and applications will be evaluated on a rolling review. We will stop accepting applications on December 4, 2020.