The blockchain revolution has arrived.
First conceptualized by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, the explosive rise of crypto has created new opportunities for early adopters and inspired the next generation of investors. But insufficient infrastructure deterred large organizations from participating in this fast-growing market.
In 2018, Galaxy was created to fill this gap.
The Challenge
Founded by visionary investor Mike Novogratz to build a bridge between the crypto and institutional worlds, Galaxy played a pioneering role in connecting institutions and entrepreneurs to the crypto economy. Having achieved its initial mission, Galaxy soon realized the brand was falling short of the company’s growing capabilities, future ambitions, and evolved mission.
Pentagram has reimagined the brand identity, strategy, and messaging to represent Galaxy’s deep roots within the crypto community and stature as a leader in the Web3 ecosystem. The new branding reflects the next leg of Galaxy’s journey: To engineer a new economic paradigm.
The Strategy
Galaxy is building a holistic financial platform for a digitally native world. As a demystifying force in this vast and expanding ecosystem, the brand helps a diverse and growing audience navigate the unexplored potential of this space. Informing perspectives, untangling complexity, and offering guidance through this new frontier, Galaxy’s voice aims to be an ecosystem authority, clarifying the next era of finance and technology for clients and investors.
The Solution
At its core, the new identity revolves around a new logo. Crafted from the elemental forms of a square and circle, it represents the combination of the blockchain combined with the open and endless potential of Galaxy. Together, these shapes suggest the abstracted helmet of an astronaut, evoking all the roles the company plays in the crypto space––explorer, guide, technologist, and guardian.
In the universal spirit of Web3, the symbol can be modified into infinite permutations to represent all the people who will be a part of the future Galaxy is building. The logo also provides a unifying framework for Galaxy’s Explorer Collection, a new series of NFTs created in partnership with TIME magazine’s Web3 initiative TIMEPieces. Variations on the helmet are container shapes for the 3,210 unique digital collectibles, branding them as different visions that are all part of Galaxy.
A new visual direction for illustrations and infographics expands the geometric shapes into networks of interconnecting graphic components that are used to depict the concepts and technologies behind crypto and blockchain. These components are arranged into compositions projected through various spatial lenses—planar, axonometric, and perspectival. The illustrations also represent Galaxy’s platform solutions and complex crypto subjects across communication touch points.
The branding is a new beginning for Galaxy and a powerful vote of confidence for the future of crypto. According to Novogratz, “The blockchain revolution is still in its infancy. As the world of digital finance continues to evolve, Galaxy will evolve alongside it.”
