Leading crypto firm GSR took a bold step into the world of global philanthropy with the setting up of the GSR Foundation. 

Established with funding of $10m for the next four years, the Foundation will support projects to help people whose lives suffer by being excluded from the benefits of technology. But it’s the ideas behind the approach that are really unique.

Insight

Working with the founders, we quickly identified a real passion and commitment to positively impact the lives of those excluded from the mainstream. But we also found a belief that the way philanthropy operates has some systemic problems, especially the imbalance of power between applicant and funder. 

Ideas

Building on the Foundation’s business strategy we developed a clear brand strategy that would act as the brief for the creative team.

We started with helping them articulate some core beliefs to centre the brand: the collective responsibility to solve exclusion, that the best solutions are driven by the people who understand the problem best and that an approach which is centred on learning and co-creation will lead to better outcomes. Bringing this together under the essence of ‘unlocking inequality together’ provided the springboard for the development of an authentic visual approach.

Impact

The identity is designed with an entrepreneurial energy at its heart, highlighting the direct intersection between seasoned, experienced partner and passionate, but unpolished, start-ups. 

Taking direct inspiration from the traditional broadsheet, with a simplicity and confidence that married with the attention-grabbing typeface Marlide, allows them to be positioned as industry leading experts telling the stories of their partners and journeys.

The simplicity of the visual identity, using a clever, energetic hand-drawn logo is cut through with sparks of energy in the form of ‘annotations’. These are used to highlight the energy and passion often associated with start-ups and game changers, adding a human element to the brand that shows a rough idea or quick doodle is often better than a polished plan.