When it comes to branding, there are few things more important than a company's logo. A well-designed logo can instantly communicate a company's values, mission, and style, setting them apart from competitors and making a lasting impression on customers. For Cake DeFi, creating a standout logo was essential to launching their cakeELITE program and providing exclusive benefits to its members.

We spoke with the design team at Cake DeFi - namely design leads Mike Lutze and Aen Tan, as well as Senior Graphic Designer Daria Goloskokova - to learn more about the story behind the cakeELITE logo and how it came to be.

1. What is the team’s overall design philosophy when it comes to creating branding and marketing materials for Cake DeFi?

While Cake is undergoing an evolution at the moment, one aspect that makes it different from any company in the crypto space is its focus on people and approachability. The brand’s promise is to empower everyone to control their financial destiny. Marketing content is, and increasingly will be, tailored to this core mission by focussing on the benefit for the customer more than on new-news.

2. Can you walk us through the team's approach to creating the cakeELITE logo, from concept to final product? What inspired the particular elements of the logo (such as the colors and the font choice)?

The cakeELITE logo mark is a re-interpretation of Cake's existing logo with emphasis on two key aspects: elevated segment appeal and increased benefits for members.

To symbolize segment elevation, the logo color changes to gold on black. The increase in benefits is firstly communicated through the stronger visual presence of the Hyperslice –which represents customers' share of returns.

Secondly, the slice is encapsulated by the ELITE Infinity Cake, a maze line resembling nested continuous returns and benefits for members.

Lastly, the logo is accompanied by Agility Lines in the background, which resemble the active nature of the crypto industry and the velocity with which members profit from it.

3. Can you share any challenges or obstacles you faced during the design process and how you overcame them?

The number of requirements were daunting for a long time. Besides being premium, the logo had to communicate meaning and work in all sizes across digital, print and 3D. Itneeded to be able to work with and without the word mark, and suitable for use as a skin for the upcoming new mobile app, and other communications.

Countless concepts failed to deliver on all points, and at times it appeared an impossible task. Even the color scheme prompted heated discussions - should it lean towards the crypto space or towards traditional luxury?

The breakthrough came when the team refocused on what mattered the most - Ease of recognition and understanding that it was a premium segment of the familiar Cake brand. Anyone should be able to do this without explanation, even new customers.

This made it possible to see through all creative distractions and find clear answers - Gold is universally understood as high value and quickly became the obvious color choice. High brand recognition could then be achieved by taking the existing logo and re-interpreting it. This way the association with Cake was clear even if the viewer didn’t comprehend the deeper meaning of the cakeELITE variant.

As often, the right strategy sounds simple and straight-forward, but the creative process is not. Instead, it's often more akin to sculpting – By experimenting with many directions and options, creative teams chip away what doesn't work and gradually reveal what appears as the only right answer.

4. Since the company made clear that cakeELITE will continuously go through improvements to allow its members to enjoy more and more exclusive benefits, do you see the logo going through changes as well? How does the team see the logo evolving? How would it interpret those changes through the logo?

Logos embody a company’s brand promise and as such, they must be designed to have a long shelf life. ELITE as a membership program will evolve over time, but its core purpose of increasing customers' benefit will remain consistent.

This purpose is visualized in the Infinity Cake line behind the emphasized Hyperslice, which allows us to use the logo for a long time to come. It’s possible that certain changes justify color variants in the future, but the logo’s shape is intended to be timeless.

5. What advice would you give to companies looking to create strong branding and marketing materials for their products or services?

Giving blanket advice is challenging, but the strongest impact comes from focussing on a company’s fundamental purpose. - the mission or WHY behind everything they do. Logo, fonts, colors, tone of voice and content of marketing must always tie back to this WHY. A brand is like a person and will be perceived by the way it dresses, walks into a room and talks to those around. As humans we’re programmed to perceive countless minute details about this. Our brain assigns patterns and categories to these, which determine our judgment of this person or brand. Trying to imagine Mercedes Benz switching to the colors and fonts of Toys "R" Us and one immediately understands how impactful every small element is.

Of course everyone likes good design, but as customers we don’t come for great design; we come for benefits. Hence, the best brands use elements that are simple and few. The second step after finding the branding that communicates the WHY, is therefore to reduce the elements as much as possible. The message must always be in the center of attention.

6. Any message to Cake DeFi users who are now cakeELITE members or are considering to be ELITES?

Cake is a truly agile company that continuously works on ways to empower customers to control their financial destiny. This means everything perpetually evolves. While cakeELITE already provides convincing benefits today, trust in what the design promises – that the benefits will continue to increase over time. Anyone who understands Dollar Cost Averaging and compounding will know that taking action early and being consistent will lead to high returns down the line. The same logic applies to cakeELITE and we will work towards embodying the program around this brand promise.

All in all, the cakeELITE logo is a symbol of empowerment for Cake DeFi's members and a testament to the company's commitment to creating a strong, customer-centric brand. As the cakeELITE program continues to grow and evolve, we look forward to seeing what exciting developments lie ahead.

Thank you for choosing to be an ELITE.

Congratulations! By becoming a Cake DeFi cakeELITE member, you've chosen to go above and beyond what's expected of a regular user. As a cakeELITE member, you'll always be one step ahead of the pack. If you're not yet a member but have received this link from a friend, click here to join today and start enjoying all the exciting benefits cakeELITE has to offer!

To know more about cakeELITE, you may read this article or click here to visit our FAQ page. If you want to join cakeELITE but haven’t signed up for a Cake DeFi account yet, click here. DISCLAIMER: Please note that the information on this blog and in any articles posted on this blog is for general information only and should not be relied upon as financial advice. Cake Pte. Ltd., Cake DeFi, UAB, and its affiliates (the “Cake Group”) are not licensed financial advisers. You may wish to approach your own independent financial advisor before making any decision to buy, sell or hold any product and/or digital assets mentioned in this blog.

Any views, opinions, references, assertions of fact and/or other statements are not necessarily the views held by the Cake Group. The Cake Group disclaims any liability whatsoever that may arise out of or in connection with such statements. Always do your own research before investing in any financial assets and consult a qualified financial advisor if necessary.