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By 2023 crypto had an image problem. After a Super Bowl full of crypto ads in 2022, the collapse of the Terra network and exchange FTX's bankruptcy left the market in disarray, and the prevailing consumer feeling, a strategist at UK agency 20something told Adweek, was mistrust. Token.com, which called itself a crypto disruptor, hired 20something to relaunch its brand globally, with a digital design studio handling the product experience, Creative Review reported.

Its stated mission was to humanise tokens and cryptocurrencies, make them easier to engage with and help people understand what they invest in. The tagline became 'Invest with Intent'.

Rather than the dark screens and charts of most exchanges, the identity leans on warm, punchy illustrations by a fashion illustrator, used across the website, app and social channels. Creative Review said the result felt closer to a social media channel than a digital trading floor. For type, 20something senior designer Rory Stiff said the team looked to another technological turning point, the 1960s space race, and the expressive hand-drawn letters of classic sci-fi book covers, choosing the MD Nichrome typeface as a modern interpretation. The storytelling, he added, borrowed that era's habit of showing people a vision of tomorrow's world. The product design built on the tagline to make discovery easy and give users confidence. Adweek summed up the approach as 'crypto in Technicolor'.

It is attractive work, and the retro-futurism is a smart way to borrow optimism from a moment when technology felt exciting rather than suspect. But warmth is the easy part. A friendly illustration style cannot by itself fix the trust deficit Adweek described, and crypto brands have tried charm before.