Storytelling lessons from a web3 branding project

I recently saw this image in my Twitter feed, captioned with the sentence: "Literally every web3 project".

I giggled along at first. Later, I thought about that tweet again, and I realised it was right! At the time, I was designing prototypes for our web3 app, After.

My experience was so interesting and enlightening that I felt it could be helpful for other designers, too. So, here I will showcase my brand-design journey, and describe the lessons I have learned.

Preliminary research

My eye-opening research on different web3 projects brought up a wealth of identikit brands that reflected everything the infamous tweet describes.

These results also show that when it comes to branding a web3 project, designers can be somewhat clueless. This is partly because such projects tend to focus on rigid technical concepts that feel abstract and unfamiliar.

Other designers simply feel overwhelmed by the infinite possibilities at their feet. Consider that most of these projects live exclusively in the digital world: hence, just about anything is possible! So why is it that we keep on doing the same things?

Storytelling is the answer

This is not the first time I have talked about "storytelling". That’s because for me, storytelling is more than a buzzword.

Storytelling is my only way of working, and the only path that leads a brand towards a strong, relatable sense of identity and purpose. This is compounded when we consider that, most of the time, both (identity and purpose) are sorely lacking from web3 brand identities.

In the following paragraphs, I will illustrate the three steps that helped create our company's story.

Lesson01. Write your story from who you are, no matter how complex the technology or intangible the project.

Most web3 projects try to paint a sophisticated brand identity, often using abstract and/or futuristic illustrations and imagery (lesson 03), blunt typography, and neon colours to explain who they are.

This is as far as their identities go, so no wonder they all look alike.

From experience, I understand all too well that if you can’t explain “who you are” through images, you’ll also struggle to communicate your unique identity through words (aka content, see lesson 02).

The task becomes even more complicated when even you don’t know why your brand exists!

To overcome this issue, the first stage in branding your next web3 project is to define your key differentiators (in the form of a mission, vision, values and purpose). Only then will you create a story that allows others to understand and share your beliefs.

After uses the blockchain technology of smart contracts to create an automated, transparent, immutable, and private distribution of assets at an event-based future trigger (for example the death of a person, or a change in their Will).

Answering Marty Neumeier's questionnaire (a set of 17 questions to find the Onliness Statement, that cardinal distinction that can help the business owners to create a prosperous brand.), we defined that our company's mission is to help people realise the power of wealth.

For this reason, the main inspiration for our story derives from the keys of Pluto. According to the Orphic Hymn to Pluto, among many other attributes, Pluto owns the keys that connect with God's capacity to give humanity wealth.

In ancient Greek burial practices, the keys symbolised revelations that the deceased was obligated to keep secret, along with a coin placed in their mouth to ensure a safe passage into the next world.

With such rich references to draw upon, the key became an essential visual element of After's branding, while the coin became After's utility token #OBOL.

After's brandmark is a key, which features a bespoke design of the capital letter A on the top. This brandmark is enclosed in a geometric hexagonal shape, representing the value of privacy and secrecy.

This sophisticated and elegant brandmark is paired with a bespoke sans serif typeface representing the bold encrypted structure behind creating a Will through After's platform.

The design of the capital letter above the key is also used to represent the utility token #OBOL.

Lesson 02. Build a community through content, and project personality through fonts.

In a world that is entirely digital, such as web3, typefaces can break traditional print-rules and enjoy the freedom they deserve on-screen… where they can be the stars!

Unfortunately, when they are overused, large, animated typefaces create a bustling environment that tires our eyes and drains our minds’ focus from the rightful heart of the brand’s storytelling: content.

One beautiful side of the de-centralised web is the communities that form from similarities in specific ideas, and your project’s unique values (as explained in lesson 01). So, the right content is critical.

If this interaction is missing, you will deprive your users of meaningful participation in the web3 experience. No matter how fancy and futuristic your project is, make sure your typeface is also clear, legible, and humanly expressive, so it can properly introduce your project to its users.

For After, we wanted to build a community whose values could inspire future generations. After must communicate a sense of immutability and permanence, because this is our promise to the community.

Our content also reflects how After speaks to a primal human need (the desire to ensure a better future for our loved ones), which is powered by blockchain technology (immutability and permanence).

Our values and duality are revealed in our specific choice of typeface.

We opted for Frank Rhule Libre, the digital version of a traditional serif typeface used mainly in print. We then paired this with a modern sans serif font, Lato, which is exclusively designed for the digital world (though it looks good in print, too!).

The sans serif has been used in every header, to deliver essential concepts and help readers to scan the page effortlessly.

Lato, meanwhile, has been widely used in long paragraphs for its semi-rounded details that aid readability, as well as offering a sense of gravitas.

Storytelling also helped us to elaborate the delicate concept of death in a personal and expressive way, focusing on positive legacy rather than heartbreak. For this reason, the word "departure" was chosen over “death”.

Our users are referred to as Afterists: people who have taken control of defining a positive future for their loved ones.

After also promises to make the journey towards creating a Will both pleasant and accessible – a simple process that is literally at their fingertips.

Lesson 03. Illustrate your story: create differentiation with your own visual language.

Colours and illustrations are powerful storytelling methods.
However, if your web3 project's visual language feels similar to that of so many other projects, how can you differentiate yourself?

As we have already touched upon, the alarming similarity is likely due to your attempt to explain the technology behind the project (which most of the time is complicated and feels unfamiliar), rather than explaining the values and purpose of your brand.

When illustrated with intention, a compelling story has the power to spark conversation.

If you explore your company's key differentiators (mission, values and purpose), you will be forced to think creatively about your brand's unique story, and how you can harness its competitive power.

In the case of After, our values inspired our colours: from the very light, like white and pink (emotion, afterlife, purity, clarity, meditation, light), to darker, more sophisticated shades like purple and black (wealth, death, meaning, passage, spiritual).

This content (including our mission and purpose) inspired our illustrations.

As we mentioned in lesson 02, we used the words journey and departure to introduce and explain our app. An inspirational story, the Myth of Pluto, describes the journey in the afterlife.

Hence, I created a series of illustrations that visualise the passage of our Afterists to a world that is peaceful and everlasting, crafted from expansive architecture and infinite skies.

The illustrations are also part of a non-fungible token (NFT) collection called Elysium (from the Greek, Ēlýsion pedion; a conception of the afterlife developed over time by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults).

The Elysium artworks, or NFTs, will be distributed as a ‘pass’ to join the community. Only pass holders can unlock community-specific channels, or gain access to exclusive perks and rewards.

Takeaways

In a world that changes so rapidly, storytelling can help web3 projects hold users’ attention, as they build lasting and memorable community connections. Working on our After's narrative, we learned:

• Your mission, vision, values, and personality will build your unique storytelling strategy.
• Your story will guide you towards choosing the right words for your content, and a typeface that clearly expresses your ethos.
• Storytelling inspires illustrations that focus on the key differentiators, helping you forge meaningful connections with your customers.

We hope you enjoyed my designer's journey!  If you would like to start a new journey all of your own, that cares for and protects your loved ones, you can visit After’s website to find out more.