What wasn't working?
There had always been a strong duality theme — Circle’s first app was created to send and receive Bitcoin and eventually, allow free conversions between USD, EUR and GBP — the send/receive or in/out connotation was visually clear. Rest that on a 45-degree angle and you have forward momentum, nodding at Circle’s promise to bring to life a new shape of money. Over time, with several mini brands revolving under one roof (Circle Pay, Circle Invest, Circle Trade, Circle Research, USDC, Poloniex, SeedInvest, and Centre), we found our broader brand experience growing in disjointed directions and the umbrella system began to break.
For the new look, we all agreed the icon must be circular, and a new logo should be informed by the current design, not a complete departure. However, the design team at Circle struggled with this mark for years — it was hard for even designers to get right and super easy for non-designers to screw up. If placed on a color other than white or black, or without enough clearspace, or in a tiny app icon or favicon, or on a pen, or even on the right side of a design, no guideline or brand police could stop the abuse from happening. Addressing these balance, weight, and scalability issues was critical.