You may have noticed some weird things going on with the Union Twitter/X, Discord, and other channels. Well, today it’s official…
Union has adopted the Whale Shark as its mascot.
You probably have questions. Luckily our Head of Design has taken time out of his busy schedule of making memes to answer questions about our new branding.
Why is Union rebranding?
It isn’t. We are just updating our typography, messaging, and imagery to better reflect Union's mission and goals. The Union logomark remains the same, but we have updated the logotype to a more unique and bespoke modification of the typeface SUPERMOLOT.
Excerpt from our new branding guide, showing the adjustments made to our logotype.
This new branding architecture is being deployed in stages, so you will begin to see it at in-person events, as well as our updated digital footprint. The Union website is being updated to match the new designs, and you will see it in the wild soon. Very soon.
Preview of the new Union homepage, now with 20% more pomp and circumstance.
So… why whale sharks?
Short answer: They're rad AF.
Longer answer: When the core team began working on updating the Union brand, we looked at the landscape of crypto projects and the aesthetics that were prevalent in the space. The goal was to create branding that's both visually distinctive and helps encapsulate what Union is.
What we found is that the projects we admire most use fun, non-technical imagery to give life and personality to otherwise abstract technical products. Having a mascot is a great way to do this, especially one with a memorable visual identity of its own.
Enter the whale shark.
Rhincodon typus, AKA Whale Sharks, are the largest fish in the ocean, characterized by their big mouths and unique spotting pattern. They are also super cool and chill.
The whale shark symbolizes Union's desire to grow and become the dominant interoperability provider in crypto. Wherever you see a whale shark in the wild, you are sure to find a thriving ecosystem nearby. The words “whale” and “shark” are already linked to ideas of growth and bullish intent, so a creature that combines both also reflects Union's identity.
Whale sharks, while large and intimidating, are gentle giants who pose no threat to humans, and are known to be quite playful. This mentality mirrors Union’s cooperative identity, open source philosophy, and the joy of experimenting while not taking ourselves too seriously.
Finally, Whale sharks live in the ocean, which gives us a wealth of thematic elements to create art, aesthetics, messaging, and merch. Expect to see more in the future as we grow closer to mainnet launch. We aim to dominate ocean aesthetics within the crypto space.
What does 0_______0 mean?
The 0_______0 emoticon is the representation of a whale shark when you look them in the face. It is Union's calling card, and can be used by anyone who supports Union and our mission of modular interoperability. Using the emoticon shows your desire to join our Pod (a group of whale sharks).
The standard emoticon is 0_______0 (a zero, seven underscores, and another zero), but feel free to mix it up with different eyes or a longer/shorter mouth.
We have a lot of exciting stuff coming your way, so make sure you are following us on socials to see what’s next for Union. Part of that push will include the first Union NFT collection. While we are not ready to reveal it quite yet, here is a teaser (final version will not be pixelated):
Come Swim With Us.
0_______0