In-House Brand & Creative Leadership / Axial
Brand Development
Brand Guidelines
User Experience & Product Design
Design System
Website Design
Sales, Marketing & Recruitment Collateral
Investor Materials
Powering the Lower Middle Market.
Before Axial had a brand team, it had a list of agencies and freelancers.
So I built Axial’s first in-house creative function, and with it, a brand that dealmakers trusted.
Axial is the largest B2B fintech platform for buying, selling, advising, and financing private companies, a single, trusted place where business owners and deal professionals discover and connect with transaction partners. Bloomberg called it “the Tinder of M&A.”
From freemium to premium
As Axial’s Design Director, I owned the brand across every touchpoint, from the product to the pitch deck:
Built the in-house creative function. Replaced ad hoc agency and freelance work with a team that could design, test, and improve creative quickly against engagement and retention goals.
Led the brand through a business model shift. Evolved the brand as Axial moved from a freemium model to a premium subscription platform, positioning it as the trusted standard for private equity firms and M&A professionals.
Designed the product experience. Partnered on user experience and product design, and implemented a design system that kept the platform consistent as it grew.
Brought the brand to life everywhere. The website, brand guidelines, and sales, marketing, and recruitment materials.
Shaped the investor story. Partnered with the CEO on investor materials for Axial’s $29.5M Series B.
Took the brand offline. Built the brand and experience for Concord, Axial’s matchmaking event for dealmakers. [See the Concord case study →]
Used real people, not stock photos. Axial’s imagery came from our actual community of dealmakers, captured at our own events, so the brand looked like the people it served.
“Clarissa leads design with ideal combination of creativity, brand vision, and business context. Working in-house, especially with an early stage team, is about prioritizing the time and level needed to impact the business. She can be a true design director - creating the vision to execute with vendors and other designers - but she's also not afraid to get her hands dirty and do the work herself. Clarissa is that leader and partner - someone who educates, contributes, sets the vision, and figures out how to get it done.”
— Allison T., VP Growth & Customer Experience