In the last weeks, we worked on a new visual identity and a better positioning for Beyond. Asking the hard questions, like why are we here? Why do we solve this problem, and how? In this article, we want to outline our process and the explanation of the final result.

Before being able to define our new branding and come up with a visual representation, we looked more holistically at what we wanted to communicate, who our target group was, and how we could reach them.

We concluded that we want to create a super simple and smooth experience for our communities and their members. Dealing with the on-chain & off-chain data and moving the heavy lifting into the background helps us to keep the experience as easy and focused as possible.

So how do we make this as simple as possible? Imagine having the panel to control your community designed by the famous Dieter Rams, creator of the Braun design philosophy. What would it look like? That was the question we started with.

Focusing on ease of use and simplicity, inspired by timeless objects and products that express confidence, elegance and functionality through their brilliant design.

Nodes and edges are used to visualize a community network and its members. The density of connections between nodes can show how closely knit a community network is. We used this common practice to simplify our visual language when talking about the community.

We defined a dotted grid and two joint ellipses as the core elements from which all further graphics are developed. These elements are a visual representation of a control room that enables connection and community building. The grid visually introduces control, the filled ellipse community members, and the connected ellipses represent the connection between those members.

These network structures can be wild and confusing. They almost seem impossible to analyze. It is almost a full-time job to draw actionable conclusions from these unstructured data sets.

We want to embrace this chaos within a community and bring clarity to community managers simultaneously.

This seemingly contradicts the philosophy of Dieter Rams:

“Less, but better because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials.”

The nodes and edges of our new visual system perfectly represent the sense of community, connection, and coherence.

Beyond's palette uses color psychology to reflect our brand's main concepts. It represents simplicity by using a single corporate color—orange.

Orange represents empowerment and growth while being a warm color still relays a feeling of community.

A carefully considered choice of secondary shades adds depth and hierarchy to the product that, together with the main palette, forms a key part of Beyond's identity.

Beyond's logotype works as a nod to the previous visual identity, creating nostalgia from its similarity to the previous icon's shapes, but bringing a more sophisticated and mature look to the brand. The sharp and pointed shapes of the letters, contrasted with the icon’s roundness, give a sensibility that helps set the brand apart.

Bringing everything together, we end up with a well-rounded, simple visual identity that supports our ambitions to build the most easy-to-use and beautiful product that lets community builders 10x their time and spend it on the community, not management.

The final result:

Check out beyond.so for our new brand.

For this full rebranding, our lead designer Denis Sharypin worked together with Claudia Aran and David Leon Fiene