Coinfund

CoinFund is one of the most respected crypto-native investment firms in the space, founded in 2015, one month before Ethereum launched. Over a decade in, we were brought onboard to build an identity system that payed homage to where they’ve been, and signals where they’re going.

We anchored the refreshed brand system around a binary encoding pattern that spells out CoinFund's name in ones and zeros. Binary is the foundational language of computation and of cryptography. This gave us a motif that's specific to CoinFund and intertwined with the technology they invest in.

The binary mark is set in a customized version of Engravers Gothic, a typeface that reads as etched. Built from a history of permanence and metaphorically engraved on the metal technology on which the type system is processed, the type system is both authoritative and timeless, each rooted in real craft. Its serif gravity against the binary system creates the right tension: historical craft meets foundational computation.

The wordmark encodes and decodes. In motion, the letters transform into binary and snap back to readable type. It's the system revealing itself: name and code are one and the same.

The palette is built around deep navy and charcoal, colors that carry institutional weight, and opens up through parchment, sky, and slate, giving the system air. Pops of amber, cobalt, and vermilion sit at the bottom of the hierarchy, used sparingly for moments that need to cut through.

The rebuilt site was designed to communicate who CoinFund is within seconds of landing; a deep navy gradient, the binary mark anchoring the navigation, and a tagline that does the positioning in six words.

To create a sense of IP around the direction, we built an Encoder directly into the site navigation so visitors could type a word or message, hit encode, and watch it translate into CoinFund's binary pattern in real time.

This helped turn the brand system into an interactive binary pattern, a way for founders, LPs, and visitors to interact with the identity.

The insights section balances editorial confidence with the visual spacing the system demands. Article cards pair photography with category tags in cobalt and vermilion, and the section opens with a line that does more positioning than a paragraph of copy ever could.

On the team page, a user can hover over any team member’s portrait to see their initials encoded into the binary pattern. It's a small interaction, but it threads the encoding system through the most human part of the site.

The encoding pattern carries throughout the user journey; from conferences down through social. When CoinFund shares a new investment, both the portfolio company name and CoinFund's own name appear encoded. It can turn often mundane announcements into branded moments.

We wanted to create a design system to work across multiple surfaces and use-cases; online and off. The encoding sits comfortably on light backgrounds, dark backgrounds, in motion, and at rest. We aimed to create a visual language that hopefully compounds over time. The more users within the space see the work, the more CoinFund's identity can feel embedded in the technology it backs.

We were pleasantly surprised to find the encoding pattern work well as an embossed band across physical stationery. On paper, the binary strip reads as texture and precision rather than data, which felt nice.

Little Plains led the brand strategy, positioning, identity system, generative visual language, copywriting, and site design and development. We’re grateful to Charlotte, Jake, and the CoinFund team for trusting us with this chapter.