I would like to submit my branding proposal as well as my analysis of the current situation for DARKCOIN. I wanted to drop a word to the developpers but I will finally post on the thread.CLICK
http://silver47.eu/indexdark.htmlPlease note:- The page displays great on IPAD but needs to be fixed for smartphones.
- I do not have outstanding photoshop skills. I'm a manager. Be kind !
- I'm still working on it. Say it's 80% complete.
- I'd like to start a wallet card production. The one you'll see on the page.
I saw a few users talking about DRK branding. I do not think the actual design looks so bad but I agree it should be somewhat
refined. As a professional I wish I could help the Darkcoin startup to succeed.
Marketing is often reduced to publicity and advertising. Yet marketing is a much deeper and complex discipline. The first step for any group or brand is to refine their position as much as possible. This is called positioning. Positioning is kind of a social science where sociology and psychological data must be combined in order to find the best position and penetrate the public. Every detail has to be think about. No matter how good is a product in terms of quality/features/techniques, if the positionning is bad/wrong then your chances of success will be most likely compromised. You wouldn't your tree to grow at a slant.
Let's take an example with Dogecoin. Cute meme + Comic MS font + Humor and optimism. And wow. Dogecoin naturally found his public. Let's say mostly 15 - 25 years old, belonging to the internet generation and feeling at ease with everything related to computers. That was the perfect position. DOGECOIN developper Jackson Palmer just created something for people who looked like him and they are tens of millions out there. Dogecoin could really become a giant if no critical errors are made from the devs.
Now everyone supporting DRK need to remember Dogecoin do not have any special feature. The most advanced and performant do not necessarily win the game. That's the deal. This is exactly why department stores are full of junk. Bad for the environnement. Bad for health. But still much profit. Those companies are investing big money into marketing. They'll use the science of behaviorism. They'll end knowing the average man better than he knows himself. They will use the right word, the right color, the cutest mascot for your kids. Marketing strategies if unscrupulous are a powerful weapon of mass control. Contemporary marketing as used by big companies isn't much different from war propaganda.
Right now many altcoin startups are runned by good coders and informaticians. Even professionals for some of them. But when it comes to selling their products they lack so much of common sense. This is not meant to be contemptuous as it is hard to excel in every discipline. I am myself not very tech-friendly and never mined a single coin. I'm running windows 8 on my PC. Fair enough ! Enough talking and let's take a look at DARKCOIN.
What elements currently makes Darkcoin identity ?First Darkcoin do have an unconventionnal and rebellious side. The currency name as well as anonymity feature plays a big role in that.
Secondly Darkcoin can be characterized by its low total coin supply. 22 millions of coins suggest that Darkcoin could become very high priced. This is for people like me who think that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will become mainstream sooner or later and change the world as we know it.
Refining the current position :The current DARKCOIN position is interesting but need to be soften in order to convince more ordinary users to join the party. Darkcoin still look very obscure and DARK oriented. Let's open the COIN side a bit more. The visual identity of Darkcoin should respectively reflect those two sides. Being Dark and mainstream in the same time is what we should target, as we logically need to aim as large as possible.
Also, take in consideration the following : Having a sophisticated coin is great and we currently are on top of our own segment, but do not put all your hopes on this single aspect. This world is running fast and another more technically advanced coin could emerge. The risk of being outdated is very high. For example, anonymity could become a pretty common feature in the future. For this reason we have to stay welcoming and polyvalent.
From now, what public are we aiming ?I think we mainly have two profiles of users here :
First, there's the one which is primarily caring about the anonymous aspect. No matter the reason, may be ideological (freedom activist, ...) or more practical (buying drugs, nuclear bombs, whatever). This is not our business. For them, let's say the use of Darkcoin is more related to the "DARK" part.
Since this is the only cryptocurrency having this feature now, those people can be taken for granted.
Secondly, there is the one which are not caring that much about privacy but will look at Darksend as a good feature. These people can be the typical users of most of the cryptos out there. For those ones, we have to attract them with a good packaging. There's no secret. We have to look the best and show a lot of activity. From this point of view we must compete with the other regular altcoins in the crypto-scene.
To summarize what have been said above :
- The "DARK SIDE" is naturally part of our identity. Yet we do not know how long anonymity will be an exclusive feature to Darkcoin.
- Darkcoin must remain welcoming and attractive to everyone.
- Being expensive will lead Darkcoin to become a store of value and a medium for high priced transactions.
This is for the basis of our position. Now the design part need to be made in accordance.
LOGO I think the current D symbol is genuine. The oblique bar is here to remind us that DARKCOIN remains unconventionnal. I suggest keeping the D with the slant bar as a symbol and as a logo.
We have to distinguish the logo from illustrations and artwork. Bitcoin itself do have many variations. We have no obligation to stick on a single coin model. But let's make the symbol clear. The D is the perfect symbol for a real world currency. This should definitely not look to fancy IMHO but suggesting a strong and solid currency.
COLOR THEME.I suggest switching to a different color combination. I chose dark tones (mostly black) + metallic GOLD.
Black for the DARK side. No further explanations needed here.
GOLD for the expensive side. DRK being also a store of value.
I opted for a clean, corporate looking identity. Because it is a currency, and ultimately an expensive one. So far this kind of visual identity is not used by any competitor. This is an unique segment. Darkcoin can be classy and secret at the same time. I bet on this position.
If you want a currency which cost 1000$/unit, then better start to give it a more expensive look.
Suggesting a value, even if not real yet, is having the work half done. We definitely do not want to looks like a casino chip (I'm not saying this is currently the case) or looking very fanciful like I saw in the design contest.
This is basically all I wanted to say to the community and I really hope this will make it.
I currently hold only 800DRK. But I'm convinced this coin can grow x 1000. Let's make the right choices !
My adress if you feel generous XgtB7p19sByoGbX19Mp8bM859W8JBk26SJ. As it took me my week-end to set all the things up !
It's really nice to be here. P2P projects really are a unique experience.
Stay in touch.
I love your design man! The text needs checking through though (spelling errors etc), but I'm sure you've just done that as a design concept.
