Duo Security
The Most Loved Company in Security
From the start, CEO Dug Song wanted Duo to maintain a strong in-house creative team. From content marketers to security journalists to graphic designers to videographers, Duo brings big data and big ideas to bear on traditional marketing.”
Direct Mail Promo intended to increase actual reading-time and ROI on major reports using on-container QR codes linked to corresponding report - sit back and have a drink on us…
PHOTO: Pete Baker
Beyond Expectations, lifting the (network) perimeter
With an immersive 360 degree array of LED video-screens within the canopy, suspended 10 feet above the show floor, paired with an open, unobstructed, welcoming approach, the presentation alone compelled visitors and qualified leads to want to come in. This multi-team, collaborative masterpiece centered on the visual design team, with major contributions from several teams across functional orgs, bolstered by the (earned) trust of senior leaders.
One (of several) ways we distinguished the brand was to develop a collage-style, graphic approach to avoid tropes and predictible, industry-wide overuse of the same stock photos.
PHOTO: Pete Baker
Design Visioning Project: Reimagining the Security Product Dashboard
Product as primary venue for a unified and branded UX/UI experience
Concepts at right rely on color to indicate network stability (good to go in green) or vulnerability (warning to alert in yellows, orange, and red depending on degree of threat). Synthesis of data and known thresholds define and apply persistent, dynamic color-indicative status.
Marketing brand iconography (thumbs up, warning sign, Secure Access keys) to illustrate opportunities for creating a consistent user experience from Brand to Product; from top-of-funnel-first impressions through conversion.
Establishing experiential dialogue starts with visual language and intuitive actions, micro-experiences that compound to set expectations and user confidence.
MENTOR: Jason Cyr, Chief Design Officer, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Exploratory Poster Concept /
Duo Push Authentication
This set of posters started as a means of questioning assumptions and stereotypes around identity and a play on “Push,” the name of the product feature. The first poster sketches a diverse array of people, each one as likely or unlikely to be a hacker (based on appearance) - not one wearing a black hoodie. The absence of a stereotypical hacker guides one to question who may or may not be a hacker.
Fictional names and job titles/credentials deliver deeper subtexts and questions about bias, even in which way one would orient the poster, as there is no true up or down - the poster is reversible.
TAGLINES: Push Boundaries. Push Assumptions. Push to Authenticate.
CISO = Chief Information Security Officer
SOLUTION: The Most Loved Brand in Security
As an in-house creative studio, our brand-centric, design-focused approach is present throughout the Duo system, from fine-tuning our voice and tone, the look feel/topic/type of video, what/how-we say/do on social media, at live events, sales enablement routes, employer brand (recruiting materials) and more.
We built a significant brand by leveraging competitive intelligence through brand audits, research and a murder-board/mood-board approach, to position and resonate with our primary audience on their terms through deliberate mix of visual and verbal language (so many puns). With that and the incredible tech we were hyping, a $2.3B unicorn was born…
What started as a dad joke in a brain-storm,
became iconic swag of legend.
Chelsea Lewis / Steven Samuels
Duo Hack Day 15
Theme numerates the event using shapes cut from the Duo logo (DHD 15-22).
Words are Building Blocks of Information
This example, from Understanding Duo, defines what we are, by contrasting antonyms to graphically reinforce the notion. Visual elements of color, contrast, composition, context, orientation all contribute simple signals that focus the core message, making it readily consumable (and fun!).
Duo Security now part of Cisco, is a modern, cloud-based security platform that uses two-factor authentication (2FA) and other tools to protect access to applications and data for organizations of all sizes. It verifies a user's identity by requiring a second factor, such as a tap on the Duo Mobile app or a passcode, after they enter their password. This adds a critical layer of security beyond just a password to help prevent unauthorized access, even if credentials are compromised.
Duo Security became a "unicorn" tech company in October 2017 when it raised $70 million at a valuation of $1.17 billion. The term "unicorn" refers to a privately held startup with a valuation of over $1 billion. Duo Security was later acquired by Cisco Systems (NYSE: CSCO) in October 2018 for $2.35 billion (a record at the time).