Bringing Onetrace's Values to Life
A cohesive family of expressive symbols, balancing abstraction with clarity. Designed to work across light and dark environments, the system also extends into custom emojis for everyday use in Slack and Notion.
As part of a wider careers page redesign, Onetrace set out to bring its four company values to life through a new visual language.
Following a recent rebrand, the existing visual identity had a predominantly technical feel, built around UI elements, construction-inspired textures, and a mix of flat and 3D iconography. The opportunity was to introduce a softer, more expressive layer to the brand that could communicate each value clearly while feeling like a natural extension of Onetrace's visual identity.
The Challenge
The initial exploration focused on translating each value into an abstract visual metaphor, experimenting with geometric shapes, negative space, light, and transparency.
As the visual direction took shape, the focus shifted towards finding the right balance between abstraction and clarity. The symbols were gradually refined to create a more immediate connection to each value, while preserving the expressive look and feel established in the early explorations.
The final visual language brings together simple geometric forms, layered transparencies, and soft gradients to create a cohesive family of four symbols.
Each symbol has its own distinct character, while the shared use of colour, light, and depth maintains a clear connection to Onetrace's existing identity. Designed for both light and dark backgrounds, the system maintains its visual consistency across different applications.
To bring the values into everyday interactions, the symbols were also adapted into a set of custom emojis for Slack and Notion. Using AI, the original shapes were reimagined with a more playful, dimensional finish while maintaining their recognisable forms and visual consistency.
Beyond their original digital applications, the visual language was explored across a range of physical and cultural touchpoints, from employee recognition cards to posters and branded merchandise.
These conceptual applications demonstrate how the symbols can scale beyond their original purpose while maintaining a consistent and recognisable identity.
