A six-pointed star with the word 'Haelsum' next to it

Designing for digital accessibility:
from logo to website

Client -> Carmen Burghardt, Esteem Services -> Branding, Digital Design, Illustration
The Esteem wordmark centered on a wide pink-to-orange gradient background.

About the project

Esteem is a young agency specialised in digital accessibility. Founded by accessibility specialist Carmen Burghardt, Esteem aims to make digital accessibility clear and doable. In 2025 I teamed up with Carmen to give Esteem a brand identity and design a landing page.
The Esteem wordmark in dark purple on a soft pink-to-orange gradient background. A small accessibility icon appears in the upper right corner of the logo, resembling a copyright symbol.
The Esteem wordmark in a pink-to-orange gradient on a deep purple background. The accessibility icon is visible in the upper right corner of the logo.

Accessible by design

When you're all about digital accessibility, your brand needs to reflect that. Practise what you preach, right? So every design decision had a reason, here’s how we made that work.

The color palette is fresh and bright, and built around WCAG color contrast standards. Carmen wanted the brand to feel feminine, so we opted for soft pink and orange as main colors. A dark purple provides great legibility, and a neon green as an action color keeps the palette from feeling too soft.

The type combines a legible display font with a typeface specifically developed with accessibility in mind. The result is a bold, playful combination that's easy to read for everyone.
Large bold typography reading
Large rounded typography reading

The logo

For the logo we wanted something professional and clean, without being boring or too corporate. The wordmark is open and transparent, has a forward movement, and feels playful. There's a tiny accessibility mark in the upper right corner, almost hidden like a copyright symbol, as a quiet reminder that accessibility is always present in Esteem's work. Carmen tested the logo with an AI screen reader tool, and it read it perfectly.
Three vertical social media story templates for Esteem, each featuring the headline

Visual style

For the visual style we played with soft pastel gradients and shapes with rounded corners. The name "Esteem" comes from the fourth layer of Maslow's ‘Hierarchy of Needs’, so we took that shape and made it a recurring visual element throughout the brand. Next to that, I made a set of four illustrations representing Esteem's services: coaching & consulting, workshops & training, quick scans, and accessibility audits.
An illustration of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs pyramid. The fourth layer from the bottom — representing esteem — is highlighted in a pink-to-orange gradient, while the remaining layers appear in a soft peach tone.
A hand-drawn illustration of two women collaborating, surrounded by sticky notes, set against overlapping pink and green rounded shapes. The text
A hand-drawn illustration of two people having a one-on-one consultation at a laptop, set against overlapping green, pink and orange rounded shapes on a soft pink background.
A hand-drawn illustration of two people looking at a laptop screen together, set against overlapping pink and green rounded shapes on a warm cream background.
A hand-drawn illustration of two people reviewing a document together, set against overlapping pink, orange and green rounded shapes on a soft pink background.
A hand-drawn illustration of two women in a workshop setting, each holding sticky notes, set against overlapping green and pink rounded shapes on a warm cream background.

Website

Carmen and her team developed a prototype of the landing page, which I then designed using the new visual identity. Together we made sure the website is fully accessible without losing the playful, friendly character of the brand.
A screenshot of the Esteem landing page design, showing the hero section with the headline

Kind words

"Jantine is one of the most professional people I’ve worked with. She’s warm and a joy to collaborate with. Her guidance throughout the process was thorough, and she delivered high-quality work. I’m truly happy with my brand—it feels like an authentic reflection of what I wanted, while also communicating it clearly. She did her research and felt heard in my feedback. She’s patient and adapts naturally to her client’s flow. She’s also honest and clear about what will and won’t work. On top of that, her knowledge of inclusive visual design is excellent. I’d recommend her to anyone looking to work with her."

Carmen Burghardt
Digital Accessibility Coach at Esteem

Want to see the website in action?
Visit website ->

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Let’s get in touch!

Haelsum is a Rotterdam-based design studio offering branding, web design, digital design, and illustration for creative and mission-driven brands. Working with clients in the Netherlands and worldwide.

-> Let’s get in touch!

© 2025 Haelsum — Thoughtful design made with care, coffee, and a little bit of creative magic.

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