Nextbeat Visual Identity

NextBeat is a music-first venture spun out of Space Ape Games, the team behind the hit mobile title Beatstar.

The creative brief for the logo and identity was founded on 5 key pillars: COOL, POWERFUL, HIGH-END, DISRUPTIVE, and MUSIC.

Music is a very human experience, one that is rooted deeply in consciousness. With the advent of modern "music" identities looking and feeling gentrified, it was paramount that the identity showed that touch of being human, after all, the positioning for the company is "music first". The solution came from a hand-written letter; that touch of personalisation, intent, and care was the correct choice to reflect that nuance.

Doubling on that idea, a musical notation for a "beat" was used to form the structure of the N and B (an eighth note but mirrored). The idea to use an eighth note more than any other, was that in music theory, if a whole note lasts for a whole beat, then an eighth note lasts half of a beat - denoting a change into the "next" beat.

Refinement stage: addressing readability issues posed from initial hand-written brush pen study.

A reflection of studies and various treatments for each one.

Color was inspired by real world timelines - the company started forming in Fall of 2024, slated to become a separate entity by Spring of 2025. Muscari is a type of "grape flower" that is planted in the Fall, for it to bloom in Spring. The theme for color usage was built on the concept of contrast - night and day, warm and cold, directly reflecting the different spectrums, scope, and genres of music.

For Typography, Helvetica Inserat and Poppins were the destined choice picks, with both typefaces having intrinsic properties that directly reflected three of the key pillars mentioned in the creative brief.

Addressing the 5 key pillars, the treatment is very direct, with the combination of the logo and typefaces doing all the heavy lifting. These key visual elements all contribute to the overall "cool" aspect of the brand. The visual identity was transferred to all internal communications channels, specifically Slack, Product & Presentation decks, company documents, and all touch points in the games they have under their belt.