About Project
VietData.AI was founded to empower Vietnamese businesses by helping them unlock the value of data in a market dominated by major corporations. As a new data and AI startup, VDA needed a distinctive brand presence to stand out and clearly communicate its vision within Vietnam’s crowded tech landscape.
My role
I served as the Creative and UX Lead, responsible for shaping VDA’s entire brand presence. Including the brand identity system, website, and the company's digital products.
Problem Statement
As a young startup in a fast-growing tech ecosystem, VDA struggled to express what made it different. The absence of a cohesive brand made its message less memorable and limited its ability to connect with local audiences.
Goal
Build VDA’s brand identity with a design system that elevates the brand presence. This includes redesigning website & digital products, balancing data-driven credibility with approachable, culturally relevant brand image.
Situation | From the beginning
A new player in Vietnam's saturated tech market, VDA faced three critical challenges:
No clear brand identity to differentiate VDA from competitors.
Scattered communication that fails with explain who they are, what do they do, and disconnected from the target audience.
As a customized solutions and services provider, they face an extra layer of complexity to resonate with their target audience.
With a team of freshers, I’ve had to wear multiple hats, from brand strategy to content leadership to define its unique value and ensure the brand stood out, rather than blending into the market.
Struggle of startups (Drag the slider to view before and after)
So, my Task
Defining "Who VDA Is"
Determining what enables VDA to effectively communicate its vision and values to the appropriate market
Action
Goal-Archiving Methods
Uncover VDA’s Purpose & Core Values
Through discovery workshop, I identified VDA’s guiding vision: empowering Vietnamese businesses to own their data potential. As I studied their workflow, it became clear that their value comes from how they work, they focus on tailor-made solutions, continuous collaboration, and a deep understanding of each client’s context. This positions them as a trusted partner shaping Vietnam’s data landscape.
Trust became the foundation of their brand direction. From this, I defined a clear set of core values that guided the identity and tone:
Transparency: Clear and honest communication
Reliable: Consistent and accurate delivery
Uncover: Helping clients unlock new value from data
Speed: Moving fast while staying focused
Thoughtful: Making decisions that serve partners’ interests
These insights shaped the design approach and informed how the brand presents its expertise and character.
Human-Centric Identity
While many Vietnamese tech brands rely on futuristic light streaks and glossy 3D effects to appear cutting-edge, I chose to ground VDA’s identity in the present, steering away from clichés to highlight the brand’s human core.
I implemented hand-painted strokes, canvas textures, and a warm, vibrant palette to evoke authenticity, hope, and maturity. Paired with real, candid imagery of people at work, not overproduced stock photos. Helping the brand feel relatable and authentic.
This direction showcases VDA as a brand that feels genuine and trustworthy. Like a true data partner that rolls up their sleeves and focuses on real collaborations rather than a “TikTok Tech-bro” selling shiny futures.
Because that's who they truly are; a team real human that don’t just talk about future solutions; they drive for real results now and keep pushing forward.
Logo: Confidence Through Simplicity
The VietData.AI logo cuts through tech clutter with intentional minimal touch.
Stripping away tech gimmicks, through this logo, VietData.AI positions itself not only as an average tech startup, but as a trustworthy partner in securing a data-driven future for Vietnam.
VD Monogram: The merged "V" and "D" represent the connection between Vietnamese businesses and their data potential.
.AI Mark: Represent VDA themselves, as a bridge (connecting data to AI) and a badge (disciplined tech use).
Bold Sans-serif Typeface: Reinforces a confident and trustworthy presence.
VDA's Digital Presence
Website development
One of the insights I uncovered is that VDA’s clients are not driven by price; rather, they seek a trusted partner they can rely on. However, the current website is outdated, overly focused on pricing, and lacks a clearly defined service menu, making VDA appear less credible. A traditional ‘waterfall’ approach, where stakeholders define services before the next "silo" are executed, would have delayed the rebrand by months. So Instead, I adopted a more pragmatic approach (see image below).
In addition, the site lacked essential search engine optimization, including sitemap indexing, keyword integration, and image optimization. To address this, I developed AI-driven SEO workflows and collaborated with the development team to implement sitemap indexing and image optimization, while managing these processes through WordPress CMS and Google Search Console.
This approach gave stakeholders immediate clarity, cutting UI design time to 1.5 weeks, and enabled full site deployment within 1.5 months. Additionally, pumped the site’s average position from 31.78 (Jan 4, 2025) to 5.63 (Apr 30, 2025) (Search Console)
During this time, I was literally bouncing from team to team, from data & BD to clarify the company scope of work, to the dev team, to QA their development. But it’s worth it because I cut down the website deliverables by half, while still producing a “future-ready” website and I got to play around with Relume.
Figma Prototype
Result
A Human-centric Data Partner Identity
Successfully developed a distinctive identity with a cohesive visual system that showcase VDA as a TRUST-worthy data partner, with humans and Vietnam at its heart (not its pocket).
Acquired Valuable Knowledge
Stepping into this role and managing not just the website, but the entire brand identity, was initially intimidating. It’s my first time carrying this level of responsibility, and yes, imposter syndrome crept in, especially when I have to be the “lecturer” to my young team members.
But the results speak for themselves. Along the way, I’ve learnt tools like Relume and Semrush, and even built custom GPTs, AI-generated visuals, and strategic content writing. Turns out, that intimidating leap was exactly what I needed. This experience didn’t just grow my skills; it rewired my belief in what I’m capable of. Now? I’m hungry for the next big challenge.
