When James Sullivan took leave to care for his mother as she battled cancer, he suddenly assumed the role of house manager, calling service providers, paying bills, and trying to stay on top of issues as they inevitably arise. It was completely overwhelming for him. That difficult period revealed something he'd always been aware of, but hadn't fully grasped: owning a home is exhausting.
Tools don't connect. Documents vanish into inboxes. Contractors get lost in text threads. The home, the most expensive asset most people will ever own, remains scattered.
Cassi is like the legendary dream contractor that is now your live-in BFF. An always-on, intelligent system that remembers, connects, and acts. From automated reminders, document storage, and maintenance, to home history, warranties, and bills - Cassi handles every nuance to remove the headaches of homeownership.
The power of Cassi lies in what you don't see, which follows our philosophy around how AI should be integrated and leveraged in businesses. Although the tech behind Cassi is hidden and seamless, we wanted the experience to feel warm and familiar for the user, not technical and rigid. Positioning was everything on this one, and we landed on a territory that introduces Cassi as your new heroic home system.
Starting with the brand and dictating the product feel, the brand world took on a biological symbolism, with Cassi acting as the central nervous system within your home. The color system pulls you from nostalgia to high-tech modernism, in all the best ways. The logomark represents a radiating heart, with variable simplifications for product storytelling. The logotype balances rounded counters with straight terminals to further build on the tension between human empathy and world class technology.
Our typographic system features Gestura for display, a sharp serif built on class and authority, pulling inspiration from 16th century old style tradition. As a lot of tech brands hastily slap on warm flowy serifs to communicate "friendliness" which often feels expected and basic. We selected Gestura to communicate an editorial inspired self-assurance. Our subheading typeface, F37 Lineca, a concept-driven typeface flexible at small and large sizes.
Our strategy and positioning mapped out several different audience segments, so we built out a robust messaging and tone of voice framework that allows Cassi to flex from a homeowner audience segment, all the way to realtors and contractors without losing its touch.
The entire system is pulled together with editorial-style illustrations done by Micha Huigen. The brief we gave to Micha was no small task - create an illustration set that could work on web, product, social, animation, and so on, but also can get hung up on the wall in your living room and look like fine art. Micha did not dissapoint.
We loved working on this and want to thank the Cassi team for trusitng us. We can't wait to see this product laiunch in the world and make waves in the home and consumer tech industry.
CREDITS:
Chas Appleby - Strategy and Messaging
Micha Huigen - Illustration
Leonardo Arna - Animation
