Objectives

We were tasked with rebranding Universal Quantum, creating a distinctive and memorable proposition, visual and verbal presence that lived up to UQ’s achievements, and projecting a bold confidence that would communicate their status as a technological and scientific pioneer. 

Quantum computing is a technology that could change the world completely, but its promise has long exceeded its progress. Universal Quantum are planning to change this, with new approaches and serious funding all aimed at solving a key problem: scaling the tech. 

Our approach was based on both the ambition of the company and an understanding of the physics, creating an identity that played with quantum’s fundamental weirdness through an optical illusion, and a disarmingly simple proposition grounded in published achievements, not overpromise.

Proposition: from “can we?” to “change world”

If you can solve the problem of scale in quantum computing, you will change the world with the power these devices promise to deliver. This single thought sums up what Universal Quantum are working towards. There is a lot more going on than just this, of course - and solving scale is not simple - but as a proposition, it explains concisely what the company represents:

Solve scale, change world

The industry more broadly is full of hype and overpromise. UQ were keen to avoid this, but their previous proposition - “Can we solve the million qubit challenge?” - undersold their ambition and technical difference. The breakthrough discovery of UQ Connect, to connect quantum chips together with previously unimaginable fidelity and therefore solve a key challenge of scale, gave UQ grounds to be bolder.

While the proposition is factual, it also represents the huge ambitions of the company and its founders. UQ sees a world where quantum computing can help solve many of humanity’s biggest problems, from designing new drugs to improving battery performance and more accurately modelling the climate. The proposition represents both the factual core of the product, but also the lofty mission, in four straightforward words that stand out in a highly complex sector. 

Logo and Design

Our logo design was built from two connected ideas: the proposition of scale, and how quantum particles defy logic. 

UQ’s architecture will connect lots of individual processing units together to get to a device of tremendous power. That’s why the connection between units is so important.

Quantum particles can be both somewhere, and not there, at the same time. Observing them changes their behaviour. Look at them, and they might disappear.

By illustrating the first point, we also created an optical illusion to depict the second. Between the blocks that evoke UQ’s scale, dots seem to appear, just as quantum particles seem to appear and disappear in experiments. Together, the blocks array and illusion became the founding idea of the brand design system.

For the logomark itself, the blocks were crafted into a bold UQ shape, simple elements coming together to make a characterful, standout design. Bright pink on black sets UQ out from an industry which, like so many in tech, is overreliant on blue and purple. 

A clean yet distinctive typeface, Favorit, playfully echoes the logomark while projecting a modern, scientific posture.

What we did:

• Interviewed people from the brand - including founders, key team members, recent joiners and partners - to understand Universal Quantum inside out: its direction of travel, science and technology, culture, and differentiation
• Developed this into a core strategic proposition and proof-based message house for UQ’s five key messages
• Full visual rebrand including logo, type, imagery, tone of voice, social templates, wayfinding, and brand book 
• Designed, wrote and (with our web partner, Hoffi) built a new website to act as UQ’s new front door