Solitaire Roadtrip Game Logo Art, Yahoo
Credits
Illustrator: Maryanne N
Designers: Nico M
Content Designer: Sarah K
Stakeholders: Jim L, Meg R, Emmy M
Products: Search, News
Year
2025-26
Problem and Opportunity
Yahoo was launching Scout, its first AI-powered search initiative, and needed a distinctive illustration system developed quickly. The challenge: create something innovative enough to represent Yahoo's AI debut while maintaining flexibility for testing and iteration.
This project was a chance to define the visual voice for Yahoo's AI future from the ground up, moving beyond generic tech AI aesthetics to create something ownable and rooted in Yahoo's brand heritage. Collaborating closely with content design allowed us to build a cohesive experience where illustrations and copy reinforced each other. The compressed timeline, while demanding, enabled bold creative experimentation that might have been diluted in a longer process.
Process
The compressed timeline required a streamlined approach. Rather than extensive sketching and exploration phases, I moved directly into drawing based on the provided prompts, using each illustration as both an execution and an exploration of the visual direction.
I wanted to create illustrations that felt like slice-of-life moments mixed with internet deep culture, visuals that were relatable and human rather than overtly "tech-forward." This approach helped ground the AI experience in everyday contexts while nodding to the digital vernacular that Yahoo's audience would recognise.
The initial set that will be tested to users. A range of retro, interesting, warm, to neutral pictograms. Additionally an awesome to test what resonates with users.
Seasonal pictograms that could be used on special days: Halloween, winter holidays, Valentine’s Day.
YEP (!) illustrations that can be used in a literal way to tie back to the brand. I wanted to create objects that had a cleverness to it.
Process continued…
While on the most important connections I had was working with Sarah K (content design) as it was critical to striking the right balance for copy. The illustrations needed to complement the written voice without overshadowing the user's actual search intent. Too playful, and we'd risk trivializing genuine queries; too generic, and we'd lose the personality that makes the experience memorable. By working in tight partnership with content, we ensured the visual and written language reinforced each other, creating moments of delight without disregarding why the user came to Scout in the first place.
Final thoughts
This project reinforced that constraints can drive stronger creative outcomes. The tight timeline forced decisive choices and a bias toward action over endless refinement, resulting in a visual system that felt fresh and cohesive rather than overthought.
More importantly, Scout demonstrated how illustration can do more than decorate an AI product; it can give it personality and point of view. By anchoring the system in relatable, slice-of-life moments rather than abstract tech imagery, we created something that felt human-centered even as it introduced users to new AI capabilities.
The work established a foundation for Yahoo's AI visual language, one that could evolve through testing and user feedback while maintaining a distinct identity in an increasingly crowded space.