BRAND STRATEGY, RESEARCH, NAMING & DESIGN
How brand impacts user experience
From Screencast-O-Matic to ScreenPal
VP, Brand & User Experience UX (02/2021 – 12/2024)
Head of Brand & User Experience UX (02/2018 – 02/2021)
Brand and UX Case Study Recently Featured in:
The Role of Brand in User Experience:
The multi-year journey to rename the global SaaS company, Screencast-O-Matic, to match the expanded product offering and position the company for the next chapter of growth.
The short story:
Project Overview
-
Conduct global research to determine existing equity (if any) in the brand name for existing users.
- Conduct brand research across markets and verticals to better understand user sentiment with existing name and assets. Test new names and messaging pathways.
- Rebrand the company with a name and brandmark that represents the comprehensive, high-quality, user-friendly products we develop.
- Provide a consistent brand voice and visual identity across all touchpoints in the user journey.
- Rally the team around the opportunity for change and lead the rebranding project.
- Communicate and connect with users on the rebrand.
Impact
Confidentially drove research, naming, product strategy, and interface design for the rebrand from Screencast-O-Matic to ScreenPal in partnership with the CEO and CTO.
We crafted and implemented a brand design system that works across all platforms, including desktop applications, web platforms, mobile apps, and Chrome extensions.
The brand underwent a highly orchestrated release in March 2023, with announcements and rebranded assets across all touchpoints, including marketing, product, support, app stores, and partner sites.
This rebrand positions the company for the next chapter of growth and adoption in new verticals.
Background / context
About
Screencast-O-Matic
About the
Product Suite
The Long story:
What’s in a name?
A brand’s name is one of its most important elements. So, what can be learned from a multi-year journey to get the outward expression of a brand to match the internal promise and potential?
2018: I joined a great company, but there were some challenges.
In 2018, I joined Screencast-O-Matic, a company with a vision I believed in. The company had dedicated fans and a great product that was truly easy to use. The team shared our common purpose and had a culture of innovation that resulted in constant growth and improvements.
The catch? The name.
The once descriptive, Screencast-O-Matic, had practical challenges and did not fit the long-term vision. Amongst fans, it was difficult to say and type. It raised credibility issues to potential customers, especially on the business side where we were less known and needed more visibility.
Screencast-O-Matic branding and website, 2018.
Insight: The equity was in the product and not the name.
16 Characters – 2 Hyphens – Icon in Brandmark | UX Problem
Even among power users and advocates, the name was a challenge.
Screenomatic Screencastmatic ScreencastScreenmatic
Insight: The original intention behind the name was good. However, that intended meaning was not effectively conveyed, and there was a perception problem.
Intent:
The suffix “-o-matic” is often an approachable or playful addition to descriptive terms for devices, systems, or processes that streamline or quickly automate a specific function. In this case, a device or software that automates screencasting.
In Practice:
- Approachable. → Unprofessional.
- Playful. → Silly.
- Descriptive. → Screencast term is less known in 2023.
- Streamlined. → Robotic & Rigid.
- Automated. → Not human or personalized.
- Easy. → Difficult to say/type/spell name.
- Screencasting. → Limiting.
Product grew to include: Screenshots. Video Editing. Content Hosting. Interactivity.
While the company did have a challenging name, it also had tons of potential. In the early days at Screencast-O-Matic, it was clear that there was a talented team, a product with promise, and users with purpose. To me, that was the recipe for big things to come.
Luckily, the team understood the misalignment between the name, and the company, and suite of products we had become, and embraced the need to change the name. They were also committed and willing to put in the time and effort necessary to get there – since rebranding is seldom an easy task.
Seeking understanding & validation.
Brand Research
Over several years, we conducted brand research to learn more about user sentiment and to pressure-test our potential ways of responding to that learning. We surveyed customers and conducted in-depth interviews with our target audience. We examined the competitive landscape. We even ran focus groups with people unfamiliar with Screencast-O-Matic to see how they reacted when hearing the name “Screencast-O-Matic” for the first time and then repeated this with potential new names.
Insight: Across audiences and geography, people did not connect with our current name.
After time, effort and due diligence, Screencast-O-Matic was rebranded as ScreenPal in 2023.
The new name provides many benefits, including making it easier to say, spell, understand, and type. It’s a name that I am proud of.
Takeways from this experience:
See the potential.
People often get hung up on the “now” and forget to see the road ahead – the potential. Foundational values and vision are more difficult to change than the manifestation of them. If that core is strong, accept challenges in other areas and believe you can address them. It’s worth it.
Do the research.
It’s easy to get misdirected by personal bias — and to limit your hypotheses too early, validating something that could have been better. Start with the goal of understanding first. Do the research and ask the right questions.
Take the time to get it right.
For us, this wasn’t a straightforward, fast process. From research to launch took roughly four years. But changing names and rebranding an existing company shouldn’t be taken lightly. Use this as another opportunity to better understand users and fine-tune the brand story. We used this as another opportunity to learn, and gain confidence in the decision.
Awards & Accolades:
American Graphic Design Awards Winner: ScreenPal Rebranding
Digital Design Awards Winner: ScreenPal Marketing Redesign
Digital Design Awards Winner: ScreenPal Hosting Platform
“I had the rare privilege of joining the same team as Kelly at about the same time. We got to work alongside each other redesigning and rebuilding a company brand and online presence from the ground up. Her skillsets transcend just design and user experience, but get deeper into the psychology of the user and bigger vision for the business. She is powerhouse that delivers at a dizzying pace, and empathetic and powerful leader in her space. I would jump at the chance to work with her again.”
Mario Giancini
Senior Full Stack Engineer
Recommendation via Linkedin
“Kelly Jura is a trailblazer whose visionary leadership consistently propels technology, user experience, and education forward. In my half-decade of collaboration with Kelly, she has set ambitious benchmarks and consistently surpassed them, establishing new standards of excellence.
…
One notable example of her impact is her work at ScreenPal, where Kelly orchestrated a comprehensive brand evolution and skill enhancement initiative. She leverages a unique approach that encourages creative problem-solving and conceptualization, transforming abstract ideas into tangible assets that benefit our clients, learners, and colleagues significantly.”
Martin Mehl
Faculty & Scholar-In-Residence at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Author, Inventor & Founder
Recommendation via Linkedin
Let’s Connect
Projects
Kelly is currently the Vice President of Brand and User Experience research and design for the SaaS company, ScreenPal.
Contact
hello@kjura.com
Public Relations: pr@kjura.com