Any large-scale architecture and interior project, be it a new hospital, or university campus, needs a comprehensive design standard. A place to access all approved products, their application within room templates, as well as specification details. Historically, the industry go-to practice would be to create a folder of inaccessible PDFs, or a clunky physical binder. This often leads to stagnant documents, quickly outdated information, time wasted endlessly searching for simple information, and an increase in overall project costs.

But as the world moves forward, so should design standards.

Follio is the future of design standards — a digital platform designed from the ground up, helping large enterprises organise, manage and deliver design standards to streamline workflows and ensure cohesion in every project.

What initially started as an idea, ended up as a long-term partnership with the Follio team across the brand, website and product. Our team at New Genre gave the company a name, created a confident brand identity system, designed & built a complex standards platform, and launched a marketing website with carefully directed 3D scenes.

Building a new standard for interior standards.

Our simple and clean visual system for Follio reflects the modular and functional nature of the company. Drawing from architectural blueprints, we transformed a flat folder icon into an isometric floor plan, and a subtle ‘F’ monogram. The graphic language acts as a blank space, allowing the products, materials and room templates to be in focus through a versatile card component system.

For their platform, Follio needed a rigorous, accessible, and intuitive user interface that would help streamline design standards. We carefully developed a design system using a React framework, adding a range of essential features, from category tagging and global search, to custom room templates, product-to-room multi-referencing or AI product enrichment.

For the brand identity created for Follio, we art directed a series of 3D videos showcasing the brand in a variety of architectural scenes, and a range of materials. On top of that, we’ve produced a medical industry-specific 3D video, showcasing a hospital room coming to life with the help of Follio. From the electrical system, drainage, to walls and furniture, the clip contextualises the variety of products documented on the platform.

After the launch, Follio succeeded in onboarding significant US-based hospitals into their new framework, and is now working towards integrating more industries into the platform. All in the name of optimising workflows, and allowing project management teams to operate more efficiently without the barrage of questions about design standards that can impede progress.