Brand & Systems

Deriv Rebranding

A new identity for a global trading brand, from the first workshop to the last release, made with the agency Bellwether.

Client: Deriv, with Bellwether
Year: 2022 to 2023
Role: Lead designer at Deriv
What I did: Brand strategy
Identity design
Design system
Roll-out

The project

Deriv had outgrown its chevron logo. The business was adding products and markets, and the brand had to hold all of them. I led the design work on Deriv's side and worked with the agency Bellwether from the first workshops to the last product release.

We started with strategy: stakeholder interviews, a review of every product and sub-brand, and a brand framework built on one purpose, to tear down the obstacles to simple and fair trading. Then we explored dozens of marks, type and colour directions before landing on a lowercase wordmark in coral, a single d for small spaces, and a slash that frames every layout.

The new identity went live in February 2023, first on Deriv X, then across the website, the mobile apps, P2P, live chat and every transactional email. Guidelines, a Figma library and a shared brand hub made it the one reference for every team.

The process

Five steps, one brand.

01StrategyAugust 2022
Workshops, stakeholder interviews and a review of every product and sub-brand. Out came a brand framework: purpose, values and personality.
02Exploration
Dozens of marks, type and colour directions, and a new architecture for the sub-brands.
03Identity
A lowercase wordmark in coral, a d for small spaces, Coral and Slate, Ubuntu with IBM Plex, and the slash.
04Applications
The system tested on screens, print, outdoor, signage and merchandise, then written into guidelines.
05Roll-outFrom February 2023
Deriv X first, then the website, the apps, P2P, live chat and email, one release at a time.

From the exploration board: marks, sub-brand icons and directions that led to the new identity.

The system

Built to hold every product.

The wordmark, drawn on a grid

App icons: the d for Deriv, then GO, P2P, DN, DX and cT on the same coral tile.

The graphic device

One angle, taken from the wordmark.

The 10° slant of the wordmark became the graphic device: a rectangle with one side cut at that angle. In coral or white, it holds a photo or a line of copy, from a thin strip to most of the page.

The system in three dimensions.

Later I extended it into a set of custom 3D icons: polished, semi-realistic chrome on one rounded container, for the website, print and digital marketing.