"Most tax tech solutions focus on rules and compliance. Our job was to build an approachable brand to guide people through a mandatory process. Introducing Navi, our friendly green monster, helped us bring some smiles to such a serious subject - and provide a huge differentiator."

Adam Deeley. Creative Director

Making tax less taxing

Making Tax Digital has changed how people deal with tax, creating a clear need for tools that feel simpler, smarter and easier to use. Paul and his team approached Valiant to create a new type of tax technology branding.

They wanted us to help name and build a brand to remove the fear of digitised tax returns through strategy, identity creation and early product experience design.

In a market often full of complexity and lookalike competitors, the ambition was to create something people could understand quickly, trust easily and feel confident using.

Creating a name with purpose

We developed TaxNav as a simple, memorable name that captures the product’s core benefit. It feels so obvious now, which often means it’s the right name.

Combining tax with navigation, positions the platform as a guide through a process many people are finding confusing or intimidating. The name gave the business an ownable proposition from day one and a stronger platform for launch.

Building a brand to differentiate and connect

We created an identity system designed to feel modern, capable and approachable, inspired by navigation.

The symbol has become an ownable brand asset, giving TaxNav a distinctive presence in a crowded category while reassuringly conveying direction, progress and guidance to its users. A digital-first approach helps distance the brand from more traditional finance software providers. We included motion graphics from the start – it heps guide users, grab attention and bring the new brand to life on digital channels.

The result is a brand that feels credible enough for serious financial tasks, but human enough to engage everyday users.

Extending into product experience

Alongside the brand, we shaped the initial UX and UI direction for the platform, helping ensure the product experience felt as intuitive as the proposition behind it and creating a strong foundation for future development.

From onboarding to navigation patterns, the early experience is designed to feel simple, supportive and easy to follow.

Why differentiation matters

To create memorability and differentiation we created Navi. How can you forget a tax tech proposition explained to you with a green furry monster? Having such a distinctive character not only gives Taxnav a difference, it actually reduces the anxiety (and mundanity) of tax returns.

It’s not often we find ourselves sat in a room discussing what a friendly tax monster should look like, but Navi came from a genuine idea: making something people dread feel easier to deal with.

In a category often driven purely by function, Navi gives TaxNav personality while helping explain complex processes in a more approachable way. Our CGI generated character has become a flexible brand asset used across product, explainer content, launch communications and social media.

Bringing the launch to life

To support the launch, we created explainer Navi-led videos and social assets designed to build awareness, simplify Making Tax Digital requirements and introduce the brand with clarity and confidence – to connect directly with its audiences.

The result

TaxNav has successfully launched with a clear proposition, distinctive identity and user-focused experience designed to cut through in a crowded market. Making tax technology branding, less taxing.