Local websites
Rough Draft Ventures (RDV), founded in 2013 in partnership with leading venture capital firm General Catalyst, empowers ambitious student founders across the U.S. to build innovative, generation-defining companies. Recognizing how challenging it is to launch a startup while studying full-time, RDV helps students take their ideas from the first draft to the final draft through funding, mentorship, and support from industry leaders such as Figma, Spotify, and HubSpot.
As a student-run venture capital firm, RDV approached QFlux seeking a complete rebrand and website overhaul. Their previous brand identity and website had become outdated and lacked differentiation in the highly competitive VC landscape. The goal was to create a recognizable, modern, and cohesive brand identity that would resonate with student entrepreneurs and reflect RDV’s mission of innovation, mentorship, and empowerment.
The project began with a comprehensive brand discovery and strategy phase, addressing the fragmented visual identity and inconsistent messaging that weakened RDV’s market presence. Through multiple collaborative sessions, QFlux presented two strong design directions. Once the client selected the preferred concept, we began shaping a new brand identity that balanced professionalism with youthful creativity, capturing the dual nature of RDV as both a serious investment firm and a student-driven initiative.
Our UI/UX team focused on developing a fresh, student-oriented aesthetic, energetic, yet credible. The color palette and typography were carefully chosen to communicate clarity, optimism, and confidence. We then designed three logo concepts, refining the final version into a clean, dynamic mark symbolizing growth and forward momentum.
To strengthen brand storytelling, we created a series of custom illustrations highlighting RDV’s key traits: transparency, versatility, and boldness. These visuals gave the brand a distinct personality and helped it connect emotionally with its audience.
All brand assets were consolidated into a comprehensive brand guideline, ensuring long-term consistency across print, digital, and marketing materials.
Given the client’s tight timeline, we began with a custom WordPress landing page that would act as a public-facing showcase for the rebrand. The landing page introduced the refreshed identity, highlighted RDV’s mission, and featured smooth navigation and interactive elements to boost engagement.
After the landing launch, we proceeded to design and develop the full corporate website, focusing on a clean information architecture and scalable content engine to empower RDV’s internal team to update content easily and regularly, solving the previous problem of website stagnation.
The new site combines a modern, responsive design with intuitive UX and visually consistent branding. It reflects the essence of RDV. A platform that celebrates innovation, collaboration, and student entrepreneurship.
The collaboration resulted in a holistic rebrand and digital transformation for Rough Draft Ventures. The new corporate identity, supported by a refined WordPress platform, gave RDV a strong, dynamic online presence aligned with its values and audience.
Now, with a cohesive visual system, vibrant new website, and clear brand voice, RDV stands out as a forward-thinking student venture capital network, inspiring the next generation of founders to dream, build, and lead.
