A Look at Visual Design in the Blockchain Industry
The more we delve into blockchain projects, the more we are being smacked in the face constantly by just how homogenous the design aspect in blockchain projects have been. That is disappointing to see, for an agency that is design-centred and loves design. So that’s what this article is — an examination of some visual design trends that we’ve been witnessing for the past year and requested by some of our potential/ex-clients, and because we are extra funny, we are going to regurgitate the requests as they were (sorry clients, we love you!! This is for educational purposes only!!)
Trend 1: “I want a logo… inspired by blocks…or NETWORKS. Preferably blue because it gives off a more trustworthy feel.”
While technically, yes, blue colours evoke feelings of wisdom, confidence, intelligence and faith, just a generic blue logo isn’t going to do anything for your brand, especially in the ocean of other blue cubic logos. Just a brief look on icobench’s first 100 listings greeted us with more than 20 such logos. While we’re tempted to call them out, due to copyright purposes, we did a simple search on Shutterstock instead. Some of these look familiar?
Your logo should be a reflection of your company’s product, business, goals and uniqueness, it should not be based on generic industry terminology. That’s a highway to a logo that is hard to remember and relate to You have been warned!
Trend 2: “Can you make me an animated video that’s 3 minutes long. With nice animated characters.”
3 minutes long for an infomercial, is.. WAY TOO LONG!! There’s a better chance of finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow than to expect an adult in this generation, with endless obligations to remain attentive on a 3-minute video about your blockchain product. Almost every blockchain project out there has a video explainer of their idea and product, it’s kind of in the starter pack of “legit blockchain project”- and the cheapest and fastest way to do this? An animation with a professional-sounding voiceover and some light corporate background music.
Trend 3: “Can you put the network moving thing in the background so the website looks more high-tech.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmO5wKFZnmk
View exhibits A and B for the usual suspects of the crime of ignorance. An animated network background may make your website look 0.1% more “high-tech” [sic] at first glance, but the other 99.9% depends on your site layout, typographies of choice, images and icons, and so much more.
Trend 4: “Can you make more things move?”
A lot of clients have made comments like wanting to make the website look more like a powerpoint slide with different types of transitions. Meaningful use of animation always elevates the utility and aesthetic of a website, but messy, overused ones will only detract visitors away from the site’s true purpose. We think that lots of them think doing this will make the site look more put together, but you should do that with the information you are bringing across, not through effects and smokescreens.
Granted, we can’t just expect immediately advanced design thinking from an industry so new. The emphasis of design in the blockchain industry is at its infancy stage, with many projects simply utilising it as an afterthought, or just a means to an end. Perhaps, at a project’s initial phase where only an idea is sold and even a prototype is not available, one can argue that there is not much need for extremely thoughtful design. Thoughtful design takes time, and time is always of the essence for these projects. After all, it’s the actual raise and the subsequent shipping of the product that matters, right?
We believe strongly that visual and interactive design are best able to craft the experience of each stakeholder that comes into contact with your brand. From our experience, the design goals of blockchain projects are threefold- building trust, reduce learning and standing out. You have to appear trustworthy and credible to potential investors, reduce the need to learn to the minimum for crypto-amateurs, and above all, still stand out as the cream of the crop amongst 5000+ other projects on icobench.com. Many are unable to make the connection between these 3 goals and design, some are able to achieve one or two of said goals, but only a few at the moment have reached the sweet spot of achieving all three. We get it, it’s truly not easy, especially when you are on a time crunch, have 1000 other stakeholders to answer to, and when you’re in such a volatile and new industry that you don’t even really know what outcome or behaviour to expect.
Indeed, we still have a long way to go for design in the blockchain space, where research is limited and progress is fast; and that is the responsibility for us designers to bear. We need to move fast in learning the ins and outs and be patient in explaining and implementing them. To end, here are some of our personal favourites websites in the space.
Zenome is the first decentralised market of genomic data and services. They plan to build a decentralized storage system for genomic data provided by network participants and supported financially with the help of their internal cryptocurrency. They are also planning to start the function of free exchange of genomic and personal data within their network.
Editor’s note: A great balance of striking colour, use of purposeful animation and insightful information
Iryo is a future-proof healthcare protocol that allows for innovative solutions within a legacy industry.
Editor’s note: An entirely fresh take on a healthcare centred blockchain product. What really stands out are the unconventional typefaces and the use of life images in an industry that largely is still driven by ideation
Ellcrys is building the technology that will provide the platform and tools to enable communities to build organisations that are open, transparent, self-governed and co-owned by members who are able to manage shared resources whilst being able to compete with centralised organisations.
Editor’s note: At first glance, this looks like a typical startup site, what’s with the use of illustrated characters (that’s already a great look as compared to many other projects). However, the quality is elevated by the grid system, very subtle texture changes and bright but cohesive colours.
blockchain.io is a European cryptocurrency exchange of trust for individual and institutional traders and investors.
Editor’s note: Loving the monochromatic colour scheme and sophisticated animation, which works really well with the abstract geometric line icons.
Spatium is a true, decentralized, keyless solution that supports the crypto community to manage digital assets by bringing advanced cryptographic technologies from security experts to blockchain enthusiasts.
Editor’s note: Looking like it came straight out of Ready Player One, the full black site with pops of colours, coupled with blurring animation on scroll really works well for the product and adds a Space Age vibe.
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