Metaversal is an innovative funding company that curates the growing world of the Metaverse by investing in NFTs (Non-fungible Tokens). They connect their capital to creators to co-produce and co-create iconic NFTs and grow the technology behind them. They also serve as guides to newcomers, sherpas in this complex and cryptic new frontier. They are digital natives and business minds committed for the long term, and they’re uniquely positioned to invest in the stories that unlock the Metaverse.
The Metaverse is new to most and hard to explain to the non-digital native. The challenge in creating a brand for Metaversal was their seemingly disparate audiences. On one hand they needed to appeal to the old guards of the art and finance worlds, the Christie's and Sotheby's, brands hundreds of years old. On the other hand, the bleeding-edge crypto-natives and gen-Zers, young people willing to dive head first into this new digital frontier. Metaversal was launching a business into a space buzzing with start-ups, with each day bringing something new. In a landscape of dystopian images and bright colours, we needed to create a brand that would not only stand out, but fit in. We needed to project that this brand was here to stay.
“This is the greatest learning opportunity of our lifetime”
— Yossi
“No one has a team that is properly capable of bridging the gap. We’re building a team that has so many different elements of cultural life – that team is going to set us apart”
— Anne
“We can create a systemic shift with others”
— Dan
Strategy
With a rapid, deep dive into the Metaverse and the world of NFTs, interviews and workshops with the founding team and their investors, we mapped out Metaversal’s Purpose, built a framework, their Brand Impact Model, and helped them gain clarity on their Brand Story, through which they could align their communications. We knew that their brand had to ignite intrigue and excitement, to reflect the Metaversal team’s passion.
“We can create a systemic shift with others” - Dan
“This is the greatest learning opportunity of our lifetime” - Yossi
“No one has a team that is properly capable of bridging the gap. We’re building a team that has so many different elements of cultural life – that team is going to set us apart” - Anne
“We are not the rent-seeking middle-men” - Dan
The insights from the interviews were interesting. Metaversal’s highly-skilled and diverse team of digital-natives, creatives, entrepreneurs and pioneers are what really sets them apart from any other company in the space. A team driven by community and culture, with a radical approach and an unmatched excitement for what’s to come in this new world.
They were also not asking their audience to just take their word for it, they were prepared to put their own capital into the projects and technologies they saw the most potential in.
After examining these findings, we distilled their Purpose ‘To showcase our infinite stories’ as the team helps define this new culture and the company provides a platform for creative expression to their community.
We then defined their Brand Impact Model ‘Get Ready’ as the statement of shear potential and excitement around this new digital frontier and a state of constantly preparedness for what’s to come.
Design
By this point we had a clear understanding of the two worlds Metaversal operates in. We knew we had to create a hybrid brand that skirted the traditional world of art and finance and the ever-evolving world of NFTs.
When creating a brand identity for Metaversal we first considered what an NFT actually looks like. While the range of digital assets that can be connected to an NFT continues to grow every day, the tokens are consistent, if unique. They are made up of a sequence of unique numbers and letters encoded in hexadecimal notation known as a hash string. To reflect this we created a brand language composed entirely of a hexadecimal grid, the same grid that is used to encode the notation of an NFT. From the lettering to the layout, each part is informed by these 256 (16x16) blocks.
While their language is made using a hexadecimal system, their colour palette is a binary one, black and white. This serves the dual purpose of being bold, striking and contrasted while also being able to recede enough to showcase the often colourful and exciting works that make up the NFT world.
These simple elements made up the first half of the Metaversal identity. It is slick, refined and future-facing, rooted in the world of the Metaverse while retaining a sophisticated edge. This more refined expression would appeal to their more traditional audience.
Then it got really exciting, the Metaversal brand should serve as a reflection of the growing and changing world of the Metaverse. They aren’t claiming to be the only ones participating, the only ones defining the space. Instead they're part of something much larger, much more exciting, guiding, creating and facilitating along with everyone else.
To this end, their brand should have this same level of participation from our community. Using the grid, we created an evolving brand that everyone can be a part of, that everyone can own a piece of. Each of the word-mark’s ten letters becomes an NFT in one way or another, allowing for infinite combinations and iterations. This system becomes a reflection of the Metaverse on any given day and an artifact of its history.
Impact
We created a brand identity and launch campaign for Metaversal that has since netted them a great deal of attention online. Their social following grew significantly and our launch video even got a retweet from Ja Rule (Mr Fyre Festival himself). Metaversal’s Instagram account generated 790000 impressions for the duration of its launch campaign period and the Twitter account generated over 111 000 impressions.
Credit
Account Management: Naledi Mokhele
Executive Creative Director: Ross Drakes
Creative Director and Strategist: Sheldon Stewart
Designer: William Rech