Sōzō & AutoStore
Sōzō is SoftBank Vision Fund's thought-leadership platform, and AutoStore is the award-winning editorial feature that showed what it could do. Together they turned a global investor's insights into content people stay for.
Deliverables
- Brand guide01
- UI/UX design02
- Interactive editorial design03
- Illustration04
- Video production & editing05
- Content strategy06
Client
- SoftBank Vision Fund
- Investment FirmSector
The mission
Give SoftBank Vision Fund a home for its ideas: branding, design and video for the Sōzō Insights Hub, then a flagship story to prove the platform's range, a scroll-driven profile of portfolio company AutoStore.
The challenge
Complex, data-heavy content for a global audience had to feel inviting, not corporate. AutoStore raised the bar further: tell the story through the people and culture behind the robots, not the technology itself.
The concept
A clean, modern UI with interactive data visualizations and multimedia, held together by a structured brand guide. AutoStore pushed the system into editorial: illustration, portraits and an original 'Voices of Culture' video series set the visual palette and became the heart of the piece.
Sōzō Insights Hub
The platform: a home for SoftBank Vision Fund's articles, interactive data, video, podcasts and interviews, built around a clean UI and a brand guide that keeps every format consistent.
Sōzō Insights Hub on desktop
Mood board: black & white on flat color
Wireframes
Color palette
Typography: Post Grotesk
Logo usage & lockups
Portrait treatment: B&W on brand color
Interview series on setAutoStore: Voices of Culture
The flagship feature: a scroll-driven profile of the Norwegian robotics maker, told through its people rather than its machines. I led the UI/UX, illustration and portraits, and set the visual palette for the original video series. The 'Voices of Culture' segment became the centerpiece. Webby Honoree 2023; Content Marketing Awards winner for Visual Storytelling and Best Feature Design.
The feature across desktop, tablet & phone
Culture DNA portrait collage
Interview look boards: flat color vs. set design
Voices of Culture interview portraitsA thought-leadership ecosystem built on quality over volume. Sōzō keeps outperforming quarter after quarter, and the AutoStore feature earned a Webby Honoree nod and multiple Content Marketing Awards.
Credits
Art direction · Branding · UI/UX design · Interactive · Illustration · Video: Remy Cuesta
Tools
Miro, Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, low-code web tool, Adobe Premiere Pro
Recognition
Webby Awards 2023 Honoree: Best Individual Editorial Feature (AutoStore). Content Marketing Awards winner: Best Content-Driven Website (Sōzō), plus Visual Storytelling and Best Feature Design (AutoStore). Finalist for Best Content Marketing Launch, Best Content Marketing Program in Technology, Best E-Newsletter, Best Digital Publication, Best Overall Design, and Best Interview or Profile.