View Source helps blockchain platform Moonbeam glow up with an ethereal new identity and UI

Moonbeam first emerged at a time when different blockchain platforms were being created, when companies focused more on launching new platforms than making existing ones work well together or creating better user experiences. “If you’re building on the blockchain,” explains View Source’s Creative Director & Partner Andrew Rutledge, “you believe in the right to fully own your work wherever you take it. Often you’re locked into one place, dependent on a single platform.” Moonbeam, by contrast, is a multi-chain blockchain platform that radically simplifies decentralised development. Aiming to speak to and rally their diverse audience – developers, builders creating something new, and the wider community – they enlisted the help of View Source to create a visually striking look that breaks away from an industry saturated with undifferentiated identities. Rather than rely on web3 visual clichés and take cues from “the default terminal/command line interface language that is so prevalent in the space,” the team (with the collaboration and encouragement of the client) took a step in a more ethereal direction. Leveraging the dual nature of the Moonbeam name – representing both a scientific phenomenon and a source of natural wonder, they came up with an organic concept of ‘moonlit photosynthesis,’ best summarised in the speculative question “What if the world as we know it was born out of moonlit photosynthesis as opposed to sunlight?” The result is a dark, atmospheric backdrop with morphing, luminous blue forms reminiscent of glowing botanical elements, moonbeams, and celestial phenomena.