Multicore Editorial Brand Identity

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Multicore logo lockup with "Multicore" written in Japanese katakana characters

Multicolor Multicore: Brand Identity Project

Sam Byford is, like me, an ex-pat Brit who unlike me, lives in Tokyo, Japan. We also share a common background: we both love gadgets, and both used to work at The Verge.

Today, Sam, like a growing number of entrepreneurial journalists, writes for his own publication, Multicore, which he publishes on Substack. It's about technology, hardware, and design. It's very good, and you should read it and subscribe.

I am fascinated by the rise of micromedia brands like Multicore, where individual writers, journalists, artists, designers, and creators are building their own brands using commonly available platforms like Substack, Medium, and Ghost. In fact, I am creating something along these lines myself: MBH4H, Made by Humans for Humans—but that's for another time. Now, back to Multicore.

A few months ago, I asked Sam to help translate some taglines into Japanese (Sam is fluent). Translating English to Japanese is not easy, at least not easy to do well. There's often nuance and meaning that doesn't translate directly; it takes work and a deep understanding of the language. After Sam did such a thorough job for me, it only seemed fair that I worked on a new brand identity for Multicore in return.

The inspiration comes from everything from multi-core processors to video game graphics and the Tokyo subway map. The result is a complex full-color logo that will work equally well on both light and dark backgrounds and a simplified single-color version designed to work as a watermark and may even be on a T-shirt—who doesn't love merch?

The wordmark uses arguably my favorite font in the world: Neue Haas Grotesk Display Proof. But of course, I think the logo looks best with Multicore written in Japanese katakana characters.