The blockchain industry's conventions of dark themes, neon accents, and crypto jargon had become constraints for a platform focused on human impact rather than technical complexity. The solution required transcending clichés to create something genuinely different.
The brand refresh repositioned Aptos as a trusted institutional partner for builders, transforming their identity to be more human-centered, confident, and built around the concept of moving what matters.
Brand Identity
Visual Identity System
Brand System Guidelines
Brand Activation
Motion Art Direction
The Brand Identity ↗
Brand New ↗
Brands in Motion ↗
Mindsparkle Mag ↗
Outstanding Branding
Visual Journal ↗
Visuelle ↗
Riding a new wave in crypto
Based on Aptos’s strategy, “Moving what matters” formed the core idea for how their new identity would come to life.
Aptos’s wave symbol forms the foundation of their brand across millions of wallets and applications. We refined it by sharpening, connecting, and aligning their waves toward the future. The established symbol became the anchor and inspiration for the entire brand system.
A light, warm color palette marks a radical departure from Web3’s typical neon aesthetic: a bold choice that sets Aptos distinctly apart. The colors balance human warmth with technical credibility, with nothing harsh or aggressive. The system was designed to work natively in both light and dark modes, but with an emphasis on staying in light mode to differentiate from the competition.
Modular composition system
A modular 16-unit grid system anchors all visual applications, creating hundreds of layout possibilities from systematic constraints. Components scale seamlessly from daily social media posts to global conference stages.
The system maintains absolute consistency while allowing extensive flexibility: Aptos can scale their brand presence without sacrificing coherence or requiring constant design oversight.
Visualizing Blockchain
The brand pattern, an extension of the Aptos wave system, is a visual representation of the blockchain. Paired with the system’s geometric, glass-like shapes, our brand patterns add distinction and versatility to the brand system while communicating the importance of transparency within the Aptos ecosystem.
Shapes within patterns use only circles and squares, maintaining the logo’s geometric vocabulary. The systematic approach produces a distinctive visual signature across all brand applications.
“
Coming across someone who is an amazing designer AND is good at communicating like Jared is almost like a miracle.”
Martin Ehrlich
Founder and Design Director, Ashfall Studio
Shaping Movement
Season, a variable typeface that transforms between sans and serif, thick and thin, anchors the brand's typographic system. Its ability to shift between states reinforces the concept of movement: text literally moves to emphasize meaning.
Geometric precision balanced with rounded edges creates the right energy of human warmth mixed with technical precision.
A Differentiated Approach
A light, warm color palette marks a radical departure from Web3’s typical neon aesthetic: a bold choice that sets Aptos distinctly apart. The colors balance human warmth with technical credibility, with nothing harsh or aggressive. The system was designed to work natively in both light and dark modes, but with an emphasis on staying in light mode to differentiate from the competition.
All Together Now
To celebrate the launch of Aptos’ new brand identity, we designed and art directed hype video, showcasing the fluid, dynamic system that their new brand housed. Collaborating with the Ashfall and Aptos team, we art directed this video alongside Ashfall’s talented motion designers — from storyboarding to live collaboration sessions.
A successful brand launch, all in the nick of time.
The new brand launched at The Aptos Experience in New York City on October 15th, 2025 — positioning Aptos beyond Web3 conventions for a community of hundreds of thousands of users and over 1M social media followers.