PT Method

Driving the branding strategy for IBM's Process Transformation (PT) initiative.
Company
IBM
My Role
Visual Design lead
Type
Brand identity, Illustration, Data visualization, Service design
Tools
Figma, Mural, Powerpoint
Impact
Designed and launched a comprehensive brand identity and template system for a 4,000-employee organization. This initiative delivered 30 polished process templates, significantly enhancing presentations to SVPs and clients, and driving increased productivity.

What is it

The PT Method is a set of frameworks, methodologies, and artifacts used by Service Designers and Business Transformation Consultants to deliver outcomes in Process Transformation.

These resources simplify the presentation of process flows and maps for users driving transformation with teams, clients, and SVPs, directly contributing to IBM's process improvement initiative.

The Challenge

There was no consistent branding or templates used throughout the PT organization. 

The organization's mission was to drive bold and thoughtful elimination, simplification, and automation of IBM processes to contribute to IBM’s success. However, the team itself had not achieved this for its own processes. Whenever a specific user journey map, process map, or even basic presentation deck was needed, time was spent creating one-off assets and researching conflicting methodologies. There was no unified style or documentation used, as existing artifacts were borrowed from other teams. As a result, documents being presented to executives did not have a consistent or polished look, while productivity was being lost.

My role

I developed and led the design of the brand identity, usage guidelines, and process templates.

I worked with a team of designers, researchers, business transformation consultants, and stakeholders in creating multiple user and process flow templates enabling the PT Method.

The Goals

Create a unified PT brand and design relevant templates and artifacts using the brand guidelines.

Our VP requested the development of a consistent visual identity for his organization. We would create a new brand identity that best represented the transformation and process based work of the team. Once brand guidelines were in place, we'd create a set of core templates and artifacts, allowing the team to conduct work in a consistent way and eliminate time searching for these assets elsewhere.
Mural board with activites from the brand workshop.

Process

Discovery & brand workshop

As brand lead, the first step of my process was to conduct a workshop with the VP to learn how he wanted his organization represented. I created activities in areas such as brand value, identity, and color to gauge his desired design direction. We also discussed brand identities of other companies that had his desired look and feel. From this workshop, I compiled the results, researched the visually similar brands, and got started on a Figma-based guide.

From there, I worked with the product owner to create a plan for branded assets that would be needed, including the logo, color palette, illustrations, typography, and images. I utilized the building blocks from the IBM Design isometric illustration library to build out large and intricate scenes to represent the team's mission.

Once I had the basic guidelines and assets created, I reviewed them with the team and VP to make any necessary adjustments.

Template creation

The next step was to use the brand identity to create a set of templates and resources for the organization, including maps for user journeys, E2E processes, value streams, and a basic deck template.

I always kept in mind the 2 user groups I was designing for: the users inputting and presenting the information, as well as the audience viewing it. When starting on each map, I met with service designers and business stakeholders to understand their needs and how best to present the information. I had them fill in real example data and processes to test out each design. I wanted to ensure that all of the templates were both easy to use, as well as easy to digest all of the information presented. For the design, I focused on guiding the eye through simplified visual flows and saving sufficient empty space to not overwhelm the viewer.
The team worked in stages with multiple different releases in order to prioritize the most important assets first. We monitored user feedback and incorporated it into later releases.

outcome & Business Value

Increased productivity and refined identity

Myself and the team created and launched 30 templates and resources within 4 releases.

Since the first launch in Q3 2024, there have been:
27,600 page views
3,708 unique visitors (consistent with the number of users within this org)
1,000+ downloads

Templates were used to present to a number of clients, executives, and SVPs throughout IBM in support of efforts to drive transformation. Users reported positive feedback: increased productivity due to intuitive templates, as well as polished and professional designs to represent the team.
Copyright © Marissa Kopelman 2025