Noted: New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno

edited May 2019 in conversations

“Tried and True”



New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno








(Est. 2005) "Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology startups. With more than $2 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A financing to entrepreneurs in today's fastest growing markets. The True team believes creativity flourishes when founders are supported fully and empowered to pursue brave ideas. To that end, the firm offers programs that inspire both professional and personal growth. To date, True has helped more than 250 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 10,000 jobs worldwide. The firm was awarded 2018 Venture Firm of the Year by the National Venture Capital Association."

Design by

Ueno (San Francisco, CA)

Related links

N/A

Relevant quote
Every element of the True Ventures brand is based upon the core pillars, beliefs, and values at the heart of the company. These elements shape the mentality that sets True Ventures apart from the rest of the VC space and therefore equally shape the visual representation of the brand.

With the rebrand, we decided to stay true to who they were — honest, intelligent, industry leaders. In fact, we leaned into these characteristics and found that the rebrand was more than just a fresh coat of paint.

At Ueno, we developed a strategy and a visual rebrand, but we also gave them the courage to show up in with a brave new voice, and a down-to-earth humanist approach reflecting the innovative work they do.

Images (opinion after)


New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Logo.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Shorthand version.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Sub-brands.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Texture detail.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Scribbles.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Guidelines.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Business cards.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Ad.

New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno


New Logo and Identity for True Ventures by Ueno
Online presence.

Opinion

The old logo would have been fine (or at least not offensive) if they had left those “t”s alone but, nope, they had to stretch them. *Shudder*. The new logo is certainly nicer, with a better sans serif choice and a contrasting signature script. I’m not exactly sure how the signature approach fulfills the quoted text but I can take a gander that it’s meant to evoke the idea of making deals and signing on the proverbial dotted line. The combination of the two styles is okay but not entirely convincing… it’s a little more so when seen as a family of logos. I do not know what the texture of the signature is though — the close-up reminds me of my daughter’s little foam ball slime. There is also a shorthand version of the logo that boils it down to “true” with a scribble underneath. On their website they refer to themselves as “True” versus “True Ventures” so the short version is a nice reduction of the signature “Ventures” into a scribble underline. And if you like scribbles, the identity uses a few of them which is fine but is slowly becoming a trend on the out. Also, if you like That Blue, here it is again — in their defense, though, it’s used well and more sparingly as an accent. Overall, this is a solid fine, giving the venture capital company a crisp presence with just a tiny, necessary hint of pretentiousness.


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