Happen Bank
Rebrand
The transition from LendingClub to Happen Bank
What started as a peer-to-peer lending platform grew into a full-service digital bank.
As the business evolved, the LendingClub name no longer reflected what the company had become, creating an opportunity
for a new identity and a new chapter as Happen Bank—clearing the way for people going places.
My role was to take the new brand and translate it to every internal and external Marketing touchpoint.
VISUAL IDENTITY ICONS & ILLUSTRATIONS PHOTOGRAPHY WEB EMAIL DIGITAL ADS BILLBOARD
Visual Identity
LendingClub worked with several agencies to develop the new name, logo, and creative direction. The new brand felt vibrant, hopeful, and modern. The logo depicted a forward motion, representing people moving forward in their financial journeys.
Icons & Illustrations
To refresh the new design system, I provided creative direction for updating hundreds of icons to the new brand, creating a cohesive visual library across the user experience.
My team also expanded the illustration style established by the agency, guiding the creation of new artwork while maintaining consistency across the brand.
Photography
The new photography style was meant to capture the everyday person, highlighting them in life’s real moments—good or bad. The essence was to capture real expressions on real people that looked like your mom, brother, or neighbor.
To further bring the brand to life, I curated a customized library of images, using AI to add the new Happen Orange color to every photo where appropriate. An orange tint also helped deliver a feeling of warmth and authenticity.
Website
Working closely with our Web Manager and Engineering team, I led the digital rollout of the new brand across the entire website and affiliate marketing landing pages, refreshing modules, photography, graphics, and mobile assets while ensuring a consistent brand voice across key customer touchpoints.
Website Examples
BEFORE
AFTER
Working with an external agency, I helped sort through hundreds of email templates our team had been using over the years to narrow down the top performers. Taking the module library they developed, I guided my design team in transferring thousands of our existing emails into these new branded templates, finding the best ways to incorporate the new color palette, iconography, and photography to make the brand feel fresh without impacting performance results.
We worked very closely with our Email team to get these coded for responsive mobile design.
Digital Ads
To bring the new brand to life for prospective customers, I partnered with our in-house team and external creatives to develop dozens of static, animated, and UGC-style ads. Balancing brand guidelines, legal and compliance requirements, and the competitive landscape, we created high-performing campaigns that exceeded our goals.
Billboard
To announce the launch of Happen Bank, I designed a high-impact billboard in the heart of downtown San Francisco on Kearny Street. Working directly with C-level executives, I developed a billboard that translated the new brand into a bold and memorable outdoor expression.
