The Last-Minute Genesis of the Binance DEX Logo
When we made the first post-whitepaper announcement of BNB Chain exactly one year ago today, we also unveiled an all-new, three-dimensional spinoff of Binance’s diamond logo. Adding a new dimension to the logo for a new dimension of the ecosystem – makes perfect sense, right? It’s almost as if we planned it that way!
Well, truth be told… we didn’t.
The original BNB Chain announcement image
Join us on a trip back one year to March 13, 2018. Binance has been making waves in the crypto world for eight months. And while the market is coming down from the dizzying ATH of winter 2017, the Binance team is hard at work building an all-new pillar of the ecosystem: BNB Chain. The official announcement and PR blast have been prepared, and all systems are good to go.
There’s just one problem: the designers didn’t get the memo.
Hey, we’re a startup. It happens. Sometimes you’re sitting on the train and you find out you’ve got three hours to create the graphic identity for an entirely new and potentially revolutionary pillar of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange brand. All part of the fun.
So how did we get it done?
Avid archivists of Binancian history might remember the above cover image from our eighth monthly roundup. Look closely and you’ll spot the DEX cube arranged in a tessellated pattern in the background. While the report was published a day after our initial BNB Chain announcement, the pattern had in fact been ready for a whole week before the announcement was even made internally.
That’s right: it was just really, really good timing.
One of our designers had been playing with the Binance logo in the course of exploring new designs, and when the BNB Chain news reached them, through pure serendipity, they had just the thing for the job lined up and ready to go. Cue general surprise and smatterings of delight from the team at such expeditious delivery of the visual identity, a few thumbs-up and fire emojis, and even an offer of a shiny new monitor from the management. What more could a designer want?
Now, that’s not to say the Cube was complete.
Fast-forward almost a year to the release of the Binance DEX testnet, and compare that initial version (bottom left) with the latest iteration (top right).
Version 1 was built on a regularly spaced grid: the gaps between the yellow diamond shapes are the same width as the diamonds themselves. Keeping that spacing regular made it easier to draw and tessellate, but something about it just didn’t look right.
The new and improved V2 of the Cube now follows the geometry of the original 2D Binance logo: the ratio of internal spacing to diamond is now 5:7, just like the core Binance logo. Much nicer.
Together with the release of the Binance DEX testnet on February 20, 2019, we also unveiled an all-new logo lockup for Binance DEX to complement the main logo for Binance exchange. Since the community-powered DEX represents an evolution from Binance as a company to Binance as a wider community, we thought it only right to honor it with its own unique logomark.
The new all-yellow mark is a simplified version of the larger DEX cube. Its hexagonal form complements the four-sided diamond shape of the core Binance logomark well, and by following the same geometric logic as the main Binance logo we made sure the two lockups feel consistent with each other.
Overall, we’re pretty pleased with the results, and we’re excited to see how the design of the DEX continues to evolve. We tried to make the designers add a fourth dimension to the cube but none of them have degrees in advanced physics. For now.
So, one year on from the initial announcement, what’s the latest from BNB Chain and Binance DEX?
Help us put the Binance DEX testnet through its paces - the more we test it together now, the sooner the mainnet will arrive!
Read our guides to getting started with the Binance DEX
Join the discussion on Telegram or on the official community forum.
Want a copy of the Binance DEX logo? Download the files and detailed design specs here.
If you’re a designer and you love nerding out over design guidelines like the ones linked above, join the club. We’re hiring!
Don’t see a position that fits? Email us your CV and portfolio anyway (details in the link) and we might just get in touch.