GlareDB Brand and Homepage

Project context

Sean Smith and I first met in 2018 while working on tech startup Coder. We helped the company go from Pre-Seed to Series B in 2020. In 2021, we both resigned to pursue our own adventures. I started the agency DayBreak Design, and Sean started GlareDB.

GlareDB is a globally scalable SQL database that handles any transactional or analytical workload. During its Pre-Seed funding stage, GlareDB needed a brand and website to establish authority and trust with investors, partners, and customers.

Project concept

For GlareDB to stand out against the established competition, I knew the brand needed to be mindful of industry standards while also breaking some rules.

Since GlareDB is the database of the future, I based the company's aesthetics on

New Wave science fiction from the 1960s and 1970s. The movement used established norms of the "Golden Age" of sci-fi – like robots and time travel – while exploring uncharted domains with what topics could be addressed. Likewise, GlareDB builds on the best parts of transactional and analytical databases, while breaking free to include infinite scalability like never before.

Execution

The font Barlow is used for the body text and smaller headers. Barlow is a grotesk font, which respects the norms of the tech startup world – while also being condensed, which is a nod to the New Wave sci-fi movement.

Big Caslon is used for larger headings for visual contrast and to double-down on the New Wave aesthetic.

Illustrations are entirely vector and executed in Figma. This was the first illustration I've done entirely in Figma.

GlareDB Drip

"For a one-page (basically) website designed to create hype and interest, @GlareDB created one of my favorite ever... Truly out-of-this-world."

Joseph Lapin, VP of Brand at Archer Education