Stax

Stax transitioned from a limiting name and brand to the first holistic payment services company for software, small, and large businesses. Big Vision created the brand with an extensive voice and visual strategy.

Originally named Fattmerchant, the rebrand became a brand positioning stance, requiring extensive research with staff and customers. The custom type and brand elements were the result of multiple workshops and a rigorous process.

The X-factor element serves as something extra, the force multiplier the staff provides in good service. It also visually represents the ability of the Stax platform to channel and manage multiple payment functions.

The fan, as we came to call it, illustrates the dynamic relationship between the customizable payment services Stax provides.

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Stax required a new identity to accompany their industry-leading market position.

The X-factor element serves as something extra, the force multiplier the staff provides in good service. It also visually represents the ability of the Stax platform to channel and manage multiple payment functions.

The fan, as we came to call it, illustrates the dynamic relationship between the customizable payment services Stax provides.

Amazing, amazing job. My heart is so happy. This is everything, EVERYTHING we wanted.”
—Suneera Madhani, Founder and CEO of Stax

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Originally geared toward small and midsize businesses, Fattmerchant made waves as the industry’s only flat-rate, subscription-based payment processing service.

But they’re more than a payments company now. Over the years Fattmerchant has evolved into a dynamic financial tech company processing over $9 billion in payments for its 12,000+ customers. With a new round of fundraising from Greater Sum Ventures, it was time to evolve the brand as it pursues a billion-dollar valuation.

A large part of their recent growth can be attributed to the new focus on partnering with software companies to host and provide payments services. From websites to apps, companies can integrate the Stax API into their platform to enable their customers to accept payments, send invoices, and other business needs.

With this consistent growth, their clientele had matured, requiring a repositioning of their brand and a name change. Covid-19 brought opportunities to expand their offerings, which became splintered calls-to-action across existing communication.

As a fast-growing SaaS company, they needed a more mature, polished brand that embodied what they’d become in a few short years—the industry’s only complete solution for managing everything in the payments ecosystem.

Pursuing a billion-dollar valuation required new brand positioning, a name change, and a revised identity system to unify their message.

With the rise of their partnerships with ISVs (independent software vendors), Fattmerchant needed to simultaneously assure enterprises and other partners that they’re in capable hands while remaining familiar for their SMB audience. Based on research and a recognition of the company’s growth goals, a name change was inevitable. Big Vision acted as a strategic partner and facilitated workshops with the Fattmerchant leadership team to determine brand positioning amongst a sea of Silicon Valley and incumbent competitors.

Once the name was chosen, it became clear a monolithic brand architecture would best serve their growing list of services and distinct product offerings, now including Stax Pay, Stax Enterprise, Stax API and Stax Connect. Similarly, segmenting customers was essential to allow potential clients to self-direct and explore the services at levels equal to their needs.

The Discovery Process

We began with deep research to guide the brand strategy and identity of Fattmerchant—beginning with the people it was created for. Interviews, study, and observations were used to dig and discover the core of the Fattmerchant brand from the customer’s point of view.

Research involved speaking with existing and potential Fattmerchant clients, representing a cross-section of their target audience. The interviews centered on brand experience—from the first point of contact and the feature that “sealed the deal,” to their most recent customer service exchange. We also spoke with Fattmerchant team members to gain a more thorough understanding of the inner workings of the tech company.

We then compiled a research report with the results of two weeks of interviews, competitor research, and analysis of Fattmerchant’s existing brand. These findings and insights were used to guide Fattmerchant’s rebrand, better understand what characteristics attract and retain clients, identify what qualities will help Fattmerchant stand out in the marketplace, and guide the brand through its next evolution. A brand positioning workshop followed, from which we built out the visual and voice strategy for Stax.

How can the disparate services and clientele of a fintech company find each other under a cohesive brand?

Redefining the Stax Voice

Fattmerchant’s youthful messaging got them to where they were, but to keep pushing forward to the next milestone they needed to mature their brand to embody the sharp SaaS company they’ve grown into. This meant understanding the personality of the leadership and staff that built the company, as well as the desires and unmet needs of prospect clientele.

The new Stax voice has personality, shifting to a more professional tone. It speaks to their history and values. It’s mature and smart. Bold, but measured. Customer-centric, confident, and at times, witty. It’s the financial advisor that doesn’t wear a tie. It might dress professionally, but prefers to roll up its sleeves and get right to the details. It’s new-school, comfortable with all things digital. Talking simply and clearly, Stax offers insights that light a path forward.

The brand standards manual also provided a thorough messaging framework that articulates the core attributes and benefits of the brand into a supporting structure, broken down by client segmentation. The content now focuses on software and benefits, as opposed to just savings.

The Stax name embodies the diversity and customizability of their platform. Understanding payments are the heart of every business, the new brand needed to have a core visual element that communicated complex technical services in a simple manner. The other challenge was keeping the quirky and energetic personality of the customer service—a key differentiator—to align with the professional face of the company.

The X-factor

Until the inclusion of the X element in the logotype, the mark looked sleek. It was balanced, designed with bold, geometric, custom letterforms. But it was missing that extra X-factor. An element that represented the force multiplier of the staff, of their award-winning customer service, and the energy they bring to every opportunity. This X-factor became a literal X, albeit an intricate one. It also visually represents the ability of the Stax platform to channel and manage multiple payment functions.

“Our brand looks so clean and you can finally understand everything. It’s so uniform. This is everything, everything we wanted.” — Suneera Madhani, Founder and CEO of Stax

The Fan

The fan, as we came to call it, illustrates the dynamic relationship between the customizable payment services Stax provides. It is created through multiple gradients of color, based on the client segmentation of SMBs, enterprises, or independent software vendors. A duotone photo treatment was developed for each customer segment, aligning to the different visual fans.

UI/UX Design

Stax also contracted Big Vision to provide website and content strategy. This further expanded the visual elements and interactions available to the new brand. The resulting content added clarity to documentation, alongside a new library of over 50 icons. The consistency of tone and visual throughout their brand touchpoints has provided the internal team with a playbook they can follow for years to come.

The new Stax brand and website launched on April 20th. Its new name and brand positioning, accompanied by a suite of new visual assets, have helped transform the look of this once-youthful brand into the sharp, mature SaaS company they have become over the years.

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