Fold7 echo the modularity of NEARCON 2022’s content across the event’s pulsating identity system

London-based creative and advertisement agency Fold7 developed the comprehensive and precise identity for the 2022 edition of Lisbon’s premiere Web3-community-focused event, NEARCON; embracing the layered and infrastructural nature of its subject matter through a unifying, fluid visual system. “The original idea was the day’s schedules were sent to delegates daily,” Head of Design Tom Munckton tells us, “and would update with different motion intensities during the day when viewed,” he continues, describing the intensity and mode-changing graphic components that lead NEARCON’s visual system. “In practice, the motion just changed on the 3x stages during the day,” he adds, “with an energetic start for keynotes, slowing down towards more in-depth group discussion and up again at the end of the day.” The result is a hypnotic, seemingly endless pulsation of colours, constructed of hues taken from the brand’s existing palette, that typify the infinite possibilities of the event. The visual language is amplified by an infinity-esque graphic, which was derived from the logomark of NEAR Foundation – the innovation-funding organisation behind the event; resulting in a series of bold geometric motifs that are aesthetically akin to Web3’s blockchain modularity. Performing a function greater than simply its visually satisfying behaviour, however, Fold7 translated this activity and energy into the event’s wayfinding system – creating directional, modular outputs that flood NEARCON’s printed and digital spaces. Moreover, this fundamental modularity is again embraced in the identity’s typographic choices, with the agency opting for Gent’s open-source typeface, Manrope. “It befitted the nature of decentralisation and the NEAR community,” Munckton concludes, “we hijacked its usage to be more impactful and modular for the event’s identity.”