Oculus grows up
Leading the team towards the first major consumer launch.
The Oculus Rift launch was imminent, and even though Meta (Facebook, at the time), was the parent company, Oculus itself still operated as if it were on its own. The team was scrappy, like most startups are—there was no official branding or marketing team—so as the sole team focused on design in the organization, we took on the responsibility to help the co-founders realize their very first consumer product launch. This included envisioning everything from the logo, to the website, to the marketing.
The Oculus mark was the starting point for the new vision of the brand
The final logo mark
A few of the many explorations
The team hired a few agencies and designers to help us with the logo, and they arrived at an iconic result. It was bold, simple, and geometric. The brand colors were also very stark, further reinforcing the brand’s boldness. While the mark was iconic, and had the potential to be recognizable all on its own, we were still in need of a word mark.
The wordmark
The original wordmark was optically asymmetrical, and the letter “O” was a major culprit. I wanted to bring a bit more balance such that when it was placed together with the logo, the large oval shape wouldn’t compete with the “O” in the Oculus wordmark.
I opted for a geometric sans-serif style to match the sleekness of the logo, and used a tall x-height to increase legibility when used in smaller sizes because I wanted the logo to remain the focus. Typeface aficionados will recognize similarities to Effra.
Before
After
With the new brand visuals shaping up, the company website was the next area of focus. We hadn’t yet defined it, so we needed a narrative, message, and the Oculus tone.
Without the resources and help of experienced marketing partners, we took on the initiative ourselves—a tiny core team—to pull a solid narrative together within extremely constrained timelines. The message focused on the uniqueness the product provided—the immersion felt convincingly real, and in some ways, replaced reality. And sometimes, because of all of the doldrums, sadness, boredom, or inequalities, it’s reality that we dream to escape.
Making the unbelievable seem believable without the aid of VR
The website offered visitors an alternate, deeper, and richer understanding of how impressive the technology was and the experiences the product offered. We knew there was baggage with previous attempts at virtual reality, so the emphasis on people’s emotions was our way of fighting preconceived notions. And while we knew people really had to try it to believe it, the site’s emphasis on the user’s expression and sense of immersion were important to address those who were skeptical or didn’t understand what VR is.
An ambassador and category leader for VR
With the release of our development kits, we developed a deeply loyal and committed developer community very rapidly. But as we prepared to bring the first consumer version of Rift to the general population, we knew it was important to explain the technology in terms that are easy to understand, to make it appealing to novices, and to generate excitement about what it can do.
Simultaneously, we wanted to expose more creators to this new platform. The website would serve as a the entry point for consumers and creators alike, making Oculus the go-to destination for anyone seeking to learn more about VR.
