By now, most everyone will have some knowledge about the Luna Yield rug pull. Admittedly, I was unaware of their existence until the news broke and naturally my first question was, “What does a rug pull logo look like”? Surprisingly normal, if I'm being honest. Since the exit scam, Luna Yield's website and social media have been removed and several articles that discussed and analyzed their whitepaper and roadmap have disappeared making it a difficult task to find a press kit or brand assets, but thanks to the Wayback Machine web archive we can take a look at the ruins left behind. Let's become archaeo-logo-ists and unearth some of the indicators that led to this disaster.
Color
Luna Yield utilized a calming blue. Blue is a tranquil and relaxing color, which translates easily to intelligence and wisdom. It is when we are at our most serene that we make the best decisions. Rash and impulsive choices are synonymous with vivid reds, which is why certain retailers will make use of red shelving and displays at their checkout counters, relying on those last minute candy or tabloid purchases.
By contrast, blue with its meditative wisdom creates a sense of trust with consumers. If we feel like we are allowed sufficient time to make a choice, we will put more trust in the entity patiently awaiting our decision. We perceive such patience as a respect for our choices and as a responsibility to their business. These are foundational for any brand that wants our trust and loyalty.
Take a moment to observe some blue logos familiar to you. The blue color alone is likely enough to initiate a feeling of relaxation.
Type
It appears that Luna Yield favored the sans serif typeface Bebas Neue. Tall fonts typically convey a sense of intelligence and aspiration which can, in turn, translate to a sense of luxury. Thin letter forms communicate a delicate beauty, but using all capital letters shouts power and strength and brings balance to that fragility. The Luna Yield typeface is condensed and instills the idea of compact precision, but it also feels dense and therefore immovable, stable.
Bebas Neue is a bold and exciting font when used correctly. A plethora of posters, advertisements, and magazine titles successfully use this typeface to capture a wide range of attention across a vast spectrum of industries. Unfortunately, Luna Yield is rather generic in its presentation and it appears more as a road sign than a defi platform.
NOT Web/UI/UX
This is usually the part where I dig through the flaws of their web design, or tout the benefits of a standardized dark mode UI. Since all of that is now gone, I was only able to find a handful of copy-pasted blog articles, an introductory YouTube video, and an archived snapshot of the landing page for their whitepaper.
I think these materials are sufficient enough, however. It only requires a few minutes of reading to realize they distributed the same - albeit re-worded - information across multiple platforms, particularly the tidbit about 'four geeks' growing to a team of ten since 2018. The absence of relevant and detailed information leaves us with paragraphs that are inflated with emotional vernacular clearly intended to excite and entice, not unlike a pushy salesman who won't allow us the opportunity to inspect their product ourselves.
Concept
We already know there is no concept here, so why bother looking at it? When you hear the words 'Luna' and 'Yield' what things come to your mind? I imagine a bright moon and a prosperous harvest. But does this logo communicate that? If you saw different imagery, are you able to find your concepts in their logo? It is possible to find a lowercase 'l' and maybe trace out a lower case 'y'. The circle could maybe be a moon, but should we really have to work so hard to make their logo speak to us?
Oftentimes the struggle to understand why an organization uses a certain logo means disconnectedness; either the organization doesn't understand their consumer base, or there are miscommunications between the design team and the organization's leadership. Since decentralized platforms don't exactly have a corporate budget for high quality market research and case studies, we can expect a certain immaturity in their logo designs. But when you believe in what you are creating, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into the identity of that brand, such that it transcends beyond a generic logo. When your consumers can share your vision, then your brand identity and your logo become synonymous.
Much like market trends give logical signals to those savvy enough to read them, logo design trends speak to us intuitively. Alas, like market trends, sometimes those signals only become obvious in hindsight. The good news is this can be a great learning experience. For those of you market savvy, it may be advantageous to observe how a logo speaks to you. Pay attention to how their brand makes you feel and ask questions. Why those colors? Why that animal? Why that shape? Adding a little intuition to your technical know-how may prove helpful in identifying future scams.
Well, that's about as far as I can take this analysis considering the handful of brand assets Luna Yield left us. As usual, everything here is entirely subjective. This is the way.
-fizzlstout
