Industry | Recruitment

Our creative solution | We transformed ByHike.com's recruitment platform with playful pixel art, AI-powered retro interactivity, and a scalable Figma design system to create a site that delights, not just informs.

The results | We created a living brand experience where visitors don’t just browse jobs, they engage, play, and remember.

The challenge: recruitment is stuck in the 90s

The recruitment industry is dominated by clunky, outdated systems, reminiscent of a brick phone trying to pass as a smartphone. Byhike.com was ready to step in, and shake things up, and needed a bold new approach that felt tech-forward, human-first, and full of personality.

There were two main tasks for Designed for humans:

Uncover the reasons behind the outdated hiring landscape.
Demonstrate how Hike is a site that celebrated curiosity, felt fun to use, and stood out in a crowded industry. The website needed to have personality being both fun and interactive, while maintaining a design system that could grow as the brand expanded.

Our solution

Figma sites, AI-powered retro fun, and a brand built for humans

Retro snake game for byhike.com | Designed for Humans / Hike

A distinctive brand: colour, type, and big character

Before diving into design, we wanted to establish a strong visual language for Hike inspired by iconic adventure characters from film and games, to play into the adventure and heroic journey of the brand.

Typography that balances playfulness with authority

For typography, we opted for Macho Black to convey boldness and Circe Slab B to add character. We were particularly conscious of distancing the look and feel from the very similar-sounding Nike brand. We really wanted something to capture a journey and the feeling of achievement that comes after, well, hiking up a hill or mountain. The 'i' in the word becomes the hill, and the floating dot is another symbol of adventure, taken directly from Tryfan (Snowdon, Wales). No bland corporate feel here - it's all about action, adventure, and playfulness.

Hike font and work mark explorations | Designed for Humans / Hike

Custom pixel characters and illustrations injected personality and flexibility across the site

Custom pixel-art elements dotted the site, capturing a retro-arcade vibe that enlivened buttons, loaders, and game graphics. The logo wasn't just a static fixed design; it’s a flexible and adaptable approach, meticulously crafted to ensure consistency across web and product.

The colour palette used bold tones like Hike Heat and Solar Flare, giving the brand its vibrancy.

Hike pixel icons | Designed for Humans / Hike

Designed and built in Figma Sites

In a landscape where many sites claim to be "human-centred," ours stood out. Using Figma Sites and a bit of Figma Make as our canvas, we designed each section to tell a story, rather than relying on standard templates.

We kicked off by illustrating how recruitment felt trapped in the '90s. Picture retro computers, floppy disks, and animated loading bars. Then, we spotlighted the pitfalls of outdated technology through our brick phone metaphor. Finally, we infused warmth and inviting calls to action into our narrative, encouraging visitors to engage on a personal level.

Figma's magic lay in the way it housed all components, grids, and colour tokens within a single design system. This allowed us to maintain consistency while rapidly exploring various layout ideas without compromising quality.

The ability to control the design across breakpoints is a breath of fresh air. Rather than making compromises, Figma sites enable precise layout management to the pixel, ensuring that everyone has the intended experience.

Making sure that every breakpoint looks exactly how it should | Designed for Humans / Hike

AI joins the team: the retro snake game

Our creative journey didn't just consist of static images. We welcomed AI into the mix, which helped generate assets, craft clever microcopy, and even develop a fun retro Snake game integral to the site.

Through AI models and a bit of vibe coding, we brought our pixel art to life, refining the sprites in Figma Make to fit the branding. The game logic was scaffolded using AI tools; we customised it with speed boosts, obstacles, and a "Game Over" screen featuring the Hike logo.

We ensured the game was responsive, so everyone could enjoy it—whether on mobile with touch controls or on desktops using arrow keys. The retro fun was accessible to all.

From the inspiration of Snake 2 to the playable game on byhike.com | Designed for Humans / Hike

Thoughtful details and accessibility

Of course, our journey wasn't without challenges. We had to juggle several vital factors:

Performance was crucial - we needed to keep the game lightweight to avoid slowing down page loads.
Accessibility was also a focal point. Making sure contrast ratios, alt text, and keyboard controls blended seamlessly with the retro aesthetic.
High-contrast palettes and keyboard navigation kept the site inclusive.
Smooth, gentle animations gave energy without overwhelming users.
A component-based design system ensured future pages and features could be rolled out consistently.

From design to deployment

Thanks to Figma Sites and Figma Make, we were able to iterate quickly and efficiently. AI streamlined asset production, but the real magic came from the human touch infusing personality, humour, warmth and the story into every aspect of the design. With AI, forms seamlessly matched the design and successful completion animations were implemented without the need to manually manipulate keyframes in After Effects. We even added a nice accessibility feature to reduce the form completion animation, giving users the option to have a gentle animation.

From design to working form, complete with accessibility option | Designed for Humans / Hike

The outcome

When Byhike.com launched, it became more than just a marketing site; it was a statement that recruitment doesn't have to feel rigid. Instead, it can be an exploration filled with excitement.

Visitors didn't just scroll; they engaged with the experience, clicking on playful elements, reminiscing about brick phones, and aiming for high scores in the Snake game. The brand truly came to life, demonstrating that technology and humanity can coexist harmoniously in the digital world.

Key takeaways

As we looked back on our journey, three key lessons stood out:

Blend tools, don't rely solely on them: The combination of Figma Sites and AI sped things up, but human creativity tied everything together to make the process both efficient and soulful.
Tell a story, not just a sales pitch: Using metaphors like brick phones and using interactive play told a richer story than a typical recruitment site ever could, making the challenges relatable and engaging.
Playfulness matters more than perfection: Fun moments create stronger emotional connections and embracing a playful design made all the difference.