As a Founding Partner and Creative Director for HelloCrypto.com, I led our brand strategy, visual identity, and site design.
I also managed an international team of 15—20 writers, designers, illustrators, photographers, animators, subject matter experts, researchers. We produced and published close to 300 feature crypto articles and visual explainers, videos and merch.
The Story of HelloCrypto
0:00HelloCrypto began as a conversation back in the summer of 2019.
Craig and I were talking about the growing number of people who were reaching out to with basic questions about crypto and Bitcoin.
We each kept having to answer the same questions.
FAQ
Where do you buy it?
Is it safe?
Do I need to buy a whole Bitcoin!?
And so on…
We envisioned a way to share knowledge and introduce crypto and web3 to as many people as we could find. I wanted to help my Dad understand how revolutionary and powerful this new "digital gold" would turn out to be.
Craig has a background in SEO and I've worked as a creative director and designer since the late 90s. His coding agency Nerder had developers ready to build the site and implement our content marketing strategy. I had a few talented people who could help turn our creative vision into a brand.
When we convinced Cam to join and this idea officially came to life.
He elevated our game plan, introduced business goals, analytics and accountability.
This is a look at how it all came together.
Part 1
Brand Strategy, Naming and Logo Design
We had to think deliberately about the kind of message we wanted to send and what we wanted to represent.
First of all, crypto, blockchain technology, NFTs, DeFi and Web3 was and still is confusing and intimidating. The risks need to be taken to be seriously and communicated clearly.
We landed on the name "HelloCrypto".
It's friendly and approachable—it sounds helpful.
Also, "Hello Crypto" easy to remember and not hard to spell.
The HelloCrypto logo is based on a block.
It looks like scaffolding or something in the process of being built. It's visually unique without being random. It's flexible enough to fit with a wide range editorial imagery and it reads as an obvious visual connection to blockchain technology.
Green is the primary color. It relates to being new, to growth and to profitability. Green candles… green lights, etc.
We/I chose the fonts: Euclid Mono (logotype) and Suisse Int'l from the exceptional Swiss Typefaces library.
I hired Alan Lum to help design the logo. Then we had Mark Gervais create an animated version.
Revealing the individual letters is intended to feel a bit like a mystery being solved (or a code being broken).
Bit by bit.
Part 2
Creative Direction, Visual Identity, Web Design
Learn How to Stop Worrying and Love the Blockchain.
Part 3
Content Marketing
Creating SEO optimized and keyword ranked content is a challenge.
Technology and crypto are especially competitive topics Content is not evergreen and there are bigger publications to complete with.
We decided to get the word out. We developed a unique pov and differentiated ourselves from both the crypto-bros and corporate bank-adjacent aesthetics. We had a good team and a lot of enthusiasm.
Over time the consistent work paid off… sort of. HelloCrypto’s organic search traffic grew steadily, and rankings for our top articles climbed over about 2½ years.
That basically validated this approach.
Image: Ahrefs
Top Keyword Ranking Articles:
Summary
The cryptoverse is constantly expanding and evolving. Rapid updates and new innovations make it nearly impossible for a small team to create and manage content that lasts long enough to rank organically.
The audience has also gotten a lot smaller the last few years.
On top of that, AI tools now answer most basic questions with solid step-by-step guides—usually more accurate and up to date than anything we could keep writing.
Hand-made blog posts take a lot of time and money, and they go outdated in weeks or months anyway.All that (and more) is why we’ve put HelloCrypto on the back burner.
If you were a reader, subscriber, or bought something from the store—thank you. Your support really meant a lot, and I hope the stuff helped you too.I still read and follow where crypto’s heading.
Every now and then I might post a new insight or article on the site, but it’s pretty low on the priority list right now.
Follow @HelloCryptoCom on X for updates if you want to.
—Mark
TIMELINE
Straight from
Ninety-Eight
The earliest clients and projects from my archives—— going all the way back to the dawn of the Web 1.0 and Y2K era.
1998—2008
Bottom Line
Stand for Something
or Fall for Anything.
AND
Exceptional Clients
Get Exceptional Work.
