• Carbon
  • Consumer Tech
  • Branding

‘Fabricated with light’ — the future of 3D manufacturing

Since its launch in 2016, Carbon has advanced the 3D printing industry from basic prototyping to digital manufacturing. By fusing hardware, software and material technologies to create end-use parts with unparalleled speed and precision, Carbon is unlocking rapid product innovation for some of the world’s boldest companies.   On the heels of the TED Talk that catapulted them to fame, the team at Carbon3D — as it was known at the time — approached Moving Brands as they ramped up preparations for a first product launch. They needed a dynamic identity to represent the magnitude of their offer and position their brand for success in the market.

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A game changer for products, designers and engineers 

We kicked off our collaboration with interviews, working sessions, and an on-site immersion with Carbon3D’s team of engineers, chemists, physicists and innovators. In observing their technology in action, it was clear that the business offered a true leap forward in 3D manufacturing—a breakthrough technology they call CLIP, or Continuous Light Interface Production, a photochemical printing process. Instead of printing 3D parts layer by layer, CLIP technology projects sequences of ultraviolet light into a reservoir of UV-curable resin, enabling the rapid prototyping and production commercial-grade parts— a gamechanger for global product brands, designers, and engineers.

 

'A future fabricated with light’

Moving Brands’ team set out to craft an identity that could capture the nature and vision of Carbon3D’s technology.

For a narrative anchor to the new Carbon3D brand, we leveraged the luminous heart of the Carbon3D promise and crafted the brand story to guide our design exploration: “Introducing the world to a future fabricated with light.”  

This story inspired a proposal to drop ‘3D’ from the brand name— a term commonly associated with small-scale prototyping, as opposed to advanced manufacturing— as well as the design of a bold, industrial icon: a graphic ‘C’ formed and fashioned by light. We created a corresponding mnemonic to bring the icon to life, mirroring the movement and trajectory of a part emerging from the pool of a Carbon printer— and made bespoke modifications to the Carbon wordmark to echo the look and feel of the symbol. 

The look and feel of liquid dynamics 

In developing the system, we found inspiration in the unique qualities of Carbon’s liquid resins. We built an interactive web tool to generate graphic representations of the resins’ material properties, as well as 3D renderings that enabled us to understand and apply the look and feel of liquid dynamics. To further emphasize Carbon’s pioneering position in the industry, we selected a reductive color palette that stood out in the competitive landscape and enabled Carbon to hero its products and materials.

Cornerstones of the company and brand

Unveiled internally in November 2015 and externally at the Additive Manufacturing Users Group annual conference in April 2016, the new identity received praise and recognition for differentiating the Carbon brand and positioning the business for success.

‘The Moving Brands team was a pleasure to work with. Their methodical approach was crucial in aligning and distilling the inputs from executive leadership and department representatives. The logo, wordmark and brand DNA have become cornerstones as we continue building our company and brand.’

Marc Minor,Head of Marketing at Carbon