Salam Browser
The Most Unusual Project
I think in the career of every designer there are extremely unexpected projects (I had enough of them, especially when I worked in advertising agencies). But one project left the greatest impression on me. I must admit that I am far from religion, I consider myself more of an agnostic, and yet I was so surprised by the offer that I agreed without thinking. I became the Art Director of the Salam Browser product. It is a Chromium-based solution targeting the Muslim world. His original solutions were the fight against haram content, built-in ad blockers, downloading media content, and several other features.
Initially, we asked ourselves the question of branding. It was supposed to be a simple but completely transparent sign. Therefore, through trial and error, we created some options and conducted research within the team and with potential users. It should be noted that the team was quite large and international.
The company's offices were located in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. I worked from the head office in Kuala Lumpur. Some company representatives had Russian roots, so I also got into this international gang. The stylization of the expression salam in Arabic script was chosen as the logo.
Since the browser interface itself was based on chromium, doodles became one of the fields for maneuvers. We launched a small campaign inside Kuala Lumpur, where we invited participants to draw their options. By the way, the campaign coincided with Ramadan, so many of them were dedicated to this holiday.
We also constantly supported the product itself on media platforms. We tried to show our features visually and in a funny style, for which some videos were developed. The specificity of the Asian market is largely in their perception of content, it differs from the preferences of the average European. Therefore, in terms of style, we tried to focus primarily on the inhabitants of Southeast Asia, and we got a fairly light advertisement with a bit of humor.
Over time, several sub-products have grown into independent solutions, to be more precise - into extensions. Therefore, our task was rather reduced to maintenance and analytics. Based on the conversions, it became clear what exactly was in demand and relevant for users. And we formed the appropriate cases.
Conclusion
Malaysia is a cool and soulful country with its unique sides. But over time, I realized that I did not have so many areas for growth. This product is in its final state and requires more maintenance. Whereas I wanted new challenges. Yes, and I'll be honest, it's very hot there. And as they say, If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I must admit that my attitude towards religion has not changed much while working with a similar product. But the time spent in Malaysia pleasantly pleased me, it is an open country without prejudices and stereotypes.
