01 OVERVIEW
Goldback, Inc. is a leader in the precious metals industry, aiming to make financial stability accessible for people of all income levels through the creation of the inflation-resistant currency system, Goldbacks. Since inception in 2019, they use cutting-edge vacuum deposition to hyperfractionalize real, 24-karat gold. That’s the fancy way of saying that Goldbacks are real gold that spends like cash.
02 THE CHALLENGE
Where Legacy Meets Innovation
My challenge at Goldback has been to link gold to its past and to its future, while focusing on Goldback’s industry differentiation: spendability. Using gold as a financial, wealth building tool and a collectible has been in practice for centuries. For many, gold has felt unattainable. As I approached this project, I knew that the Goldback brand needed to walk the line of feeling stable and trustworthy, yet approachable and future-pointing.
Walking into this role, there were design systems that had been built by a previous team that carried legacy value but weren’t fitting the future of Goldback, Inc. I knew that I wanted to honor that foundation, while slowly evolving the visuals to better match Goldback's new positioning: The trustworthy, spendable gold currency of the future.
04 THE Approach
A Breadcrumb Approach
This rebrand was a full two years in the making. Goldback is still a very young company, the true believers are very devout to what had already existed. I decided early on that this transition would need to be little by little to get buy-in from the audience. I started microscopically, with design basics such as using consistent type and rebalancing the current logo to make it more usable. Over the last two years, I’ve been introducing new graphics, typography, and color palettes. All leading up to introducing a new logo. As backwards as it feels, the bread crumb approach has allowed Goldback’s true believers to see the vision shifts without even realizing it.
A Logo Pointed to a Golden Future
After working an entire year and a half doing the beginning steps of this rebrand, I collaborated with an outside agency to move forward on initial ideation. With my creative direction, we found a mark that hit the key points of the story we were trying to tell. From there, I took it to the final product.
Logo Identity Tactics
Medium Contrast Type with Sloped Serifs: I chose a serif typeface with modern sloped serifs to feel familiar to the previous typeface, but giving it a modern flair. Opting for a heavier weight to solve previous issues with scalability, and keeping a medium contrast to maintain equity the previous logo had.
Introducing Lower Case: Opting for both upper and lower case creates a more friendly and approachable feeling.
Upward-Pointing Ascenders: Chosen to represent the steady upward growth of gold and that it is a stable store of wealth.
Symbolic, Storytelling Icon: Highlighting Goldbacks unique selling points in the precious metals market: spendability through a denominational system, hyperfractionalized gold, and that this is more than gold bullion (gold plus, if you will).
Brand Application
Advertising
Social Graphics
Merch
Packaging
Distributor
Enablement
Goldback Sub Brands
A Silverback is a collectible piece of art that contains 1/1000 t oz of pure silver. Each design brings ancient stories and legends to life through detailed, hand-crafted illustrations. Silverbacks bridge the gap between silver’s mystical properties and its tangible value.
The Goldback Interchange & Local Development (GILD) Network is a grassroots effort to build communities where Goldbacks are used, understood, and accepted.