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We investigate, iterate, clarify, and refine until every detail is purposeful, and the result feels undeniable.

Work that works

Our Work

A family of models from Google DeepMind, built from the ground up for multimodality.

Gemini

*Gemini* is built from the ground up for multimodality, reasoning seamlessly across text, images, video, audio, and code. This family of models surpasses state-of-the-art performance on a range of benchmarks, and consistently outperforms human experts on massive multitask language understanding. Upperquad  worked closely with Google DeepMind, Brand Studio and Creative Labs to develop a new brand and website introducing the Gemini Era.

Often associated with AI in the broader industry space, the  spark within our logo comes to represent the north star, positioning Gemini as a guiding light in the field of AI. Positioned next to the dot of the first “i” in Gemini, the spark creates a twin set, referencing the twin stars of the Gemini constellation. Carrying complex meaning, the simple mark also fits naturally into Google's existing AI visual language.

Minimal approach, massive reach

Our task was to create an integrated brand and interactive site to help usher in the Gemini Era, visually conveying the power of this model that will fundamentally change the experience of the Internet from this point forward. The work needed to be distinct, dazzling, and foundational to see Gemini through a long period of growth.

Introducing Gemini

The site we built for Gemini’s launch was a pivotal component of introducing the world to this new era in AI.

Many individuals and teams collaborated to bring this project to life. A huge thank you to Google DeepMind, Brand Studio and Creative Labs; Fred Alcober, David Buxton, Matthew Carey, Suz Chambers, Alexander Chen, Hollie Dobson, Jonathan Fildes, Jordan Griffith, Bradley Griffiths, José Guizar, Steph Parrott, Gaby Pearl, Mathew Ray, Craig Rogers, JR Schmidt, Jon Steinback, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ross West, Jenny Yeung, and Emma Yousif.

In collaboration with

Yaël Bienenstock, Margot Boyer-Dry, Christoph Gromer, David Kirschberg, Phil Ruppanner, Marvin Schwaibold, Melanie Wood. From Antinomy Studio: Baptiste Briel, Quentin Briel–DuChatel, Gwen Bogaert, Paul Bouisset, Lyall Coburn, Basile Lecouturier, Elias Sakakri. From STROHL Inc.: Christine Celic Strohl, Eric Strohl.

Upperquad's Dream team

A compliance platform designed and built for the true heroes of the financial industry.

Hummingbird

*Hummingbird* fights financial crime using better communications and technology. Most of the world’s crime involves money. Drug cartels, organized crime, weapons sales, political corruption, and human trafficking all rely on money movement through our financial system. There’s no better way to fight these criminals than to follow the money and choke off the profits. Hummingbird helps financial institutions better understand their customers and collaborate with law enforcement.

We focused on the people who are the heroes of the financial industries, putting them front and center. Custom guilloché-style patterns — evoking the feeling of currency — were combined with vibrant gradients and photorealistic illustrations in textural mosaics.

Heroes of the financial industry

We collaborated with Pangram Pangram on a custom typography that transitions from complicated letterforms to more simplified, representing the ease and clarity of using Hummingbird.

Custom typography

Antonio Mondragon-Becker

Associate Creative Director, Upperquad

The most thorough audit prep and continuous monitoring — so you can do business with confidence.

Thoropass Reel

*Thoropass* is a compliance expert so you don’t have to be. Pairing easy software that’s always getting smarter with expert guidance and continuous monitoring, Thoropass integrates into your process to prepare you to pass any audit, every year, with flying colors.

Oro is the Thoropass mascot, embodying the company’s genuine enthusiasm about compliance. Always available and ready to assist, Oro sticks with you throughout your preparation journey to make sure you’re not just squeaking by on your audit, but acing it. This character exemplifies compliance done right, raising the industry standard for everyone.

Meet Oro

Curious, helpful, optimistic, honest, and hypercompetent, Oro’s character is expressed through animated reactions to inputs throughout the user journey.

Thoropass believes that compliance is key to moving innovation forward — and that staying audit-ready can be a positive experience. By changing the tune on compliance, they’re building a world that’s safer for consumers, more seamless for enterprise, and ripe for advancement. They support their sunny disposition with clear integrity in the product experience. These character traits are expressed through a cheerful color palette, grounded with cool gray text.

Where compliance makes you smile

This brand is vibrant and extensible through a variety of applications. Oro can stay still or use motion to inform and entertain, transforming words and colors with the literal blink of an eye as they move through space. Subtle, minimalist iconography supports the product experience, while warm photography extends the brand persona with images of authentic, engaged people at work.

Built to scale

Jason Dietrick

Creative Director, Upperquad

Typography, a playful use of Oro and a bright palatte give the brand voice a relaxed, consistent and comforting tone that works across surfaces.

Emily Headden

Senior Producer, Upperquad

Thoropass

An iniative from Google and FightCybercrime to help stop scams.

Scam Spotter

*Scam Spotter* is a consumer outreach initiative from FightCybercrime and Google to help fight scams. Its goal is to raise awareness, provide easy to understand information and stop people from getting scammed. We worked alongside Sandy Russell Creative to create the brand identity, website, and a series of animated videos to bring the initiative to life.

When the initiative launched in 2021, most scams involved gift cards and targeted seniors. But now scams are everywhere and affecting everyone; Gen Z, Gen X, Baby Boomers, Gen Alpha. Scammers are on all types of platforms and AI can give them wider reach. Scams aren't rare anymore — they're routine.

Everywhere and everyone

Instead of focusing on the worst case scenarios, we focused on everyday avoidance of scams. We wanted to prepare people to spot a scam, no matter what form it might take. No scare tactics. Just smart habits.

Know your scams

We partnered with Con McHugh on illustration and animation. His exceptional work brought memorable character to the forefront of the project. Con has an ability to make the abstract feel approachable, the complex feel human. His illustration invites people in, makes them smile, and engages them with helpful information.

Leading with character

Margot Boyer-Dry

Strategy Lead, Sandy Russell Creative

FightCybercrime, Google, Sandy Russell Creative, Molly Studio, Con McHugh

Courtney Sanford, Sandy Russell, Margot Boyer-Dry, Con McHugh, David Kirschberg, Jesper Vos, Marvin Schwaibold, Jaytel Provence, Phil Ruppanner.

The dream team

A new brand, website and publishing platform capable of supporting Jigsaw's audacious and important work.

Jigsaw Reel

*Jigsaw* is a unit within Google that explores threats to open societies, and builds technology that inspires scalable solutions. As the digital sphere becomes increasingly intertwined with the physical, basic human rights have become vulnerable on a whole new frontier. We worked with the team at Jigsaw to develop a new brand, website and publishing platform capable of supporting their audacious and important work.

Jigsaw addresses emerging digital threats with an interdisciplinary approach that includes research, partnerships, projects and products. To celebrate each project and product as its own, we developed a flexible system for creating logos that allows the work to take on independent identities without losing connection to the broader Jigsaw brand.

Identity system

Fragmentation, distortion, dimension, connection and illumination became consistent themes woven throughout our digital and print applications. We pushed the bounds of our geometry, color and type systems to create an extensive body of artwork that feels at once diverse and cohesive.

Approach

In collaboration with Jigsaw and Imprint Projects, we also launched The Current. The Current is a digital publication that explores a single issue in depth each release, with the goal of demystifying complex topics. To exude optimism, we set The Current landing page in white and elevated our serif font, GT Sectra, to create a more editorial feel.

The Current

Jigsaw

An interactive platform for the Stanford d.school, where students use design thinking to develop their creative potential.

d.school

*The Stanford d.school* - or the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University - is a place where students use design to develop their own creative potential. We had the opportunity to work closely with the people at the d.school to design and build their website.

We worked closely with the d.school to completely rethink how they could use a web platform. We interviewed the amazing people that make up the d.school and collaborated in workshops to organize content. We developed models of how the site could celebrate and amplify contributions from all parts of the d.school. Out of this process emerged a structure for the new website.

Our approach

Phil Ruppanner

Founder, Upperquad

We approached the site with a series of principles: give people tools and minimize restrictions. Use design to provide structure and consistency, not constraints. Embrace the change. And finally, keep things modular to offer options for people adding to the site. We applied the visual aesthetic to these principles and used them as building blocks for a cohesive and beautiful website.

Systemization

Stanford d.school

Industry-leading machine learning and easy-to-use workflows at Afresh raise the bar on fresh inventory management.

Afresh

*Afresh* is purpose-built for fresh foods. Fresh foods are unique in their complexity — a case of blueberries needs to be treated differently than a shelf-stable box of cereal. Afresh goes beyond center-store demand forecasting and perpetual inventory to use machine learning to help grocery stores make smarter decisions across the fresh supply chain. What’s good for business is also good for the planet, with less food waste and fresher foods.

The mark is inspired by organic shapes — leaves and sprouts — arranged in a swirling motion, representing the type of sorting, thinking and operational order provided by Afresh’s platform. Arranged in a perfectly engineered circle, it forms an engine-like spin. It is a synthesis engineering and organics. Technical acumen brilliantly applied to all phases of a fresh department.

The idenity

Our approach was to imagine a world of machine intelligence organizing the complexity of fresh produce. High quality renders of food provided a window into this world. We took inspiration from intelligent systems, data manipulation and machine learning concepts.

Machine learning imagined

Putting fresh produce front and center means a bright, contemporary palette from which to pull. The wash of light green provides an enticing background for an electric set of colors to explode out from.

Delicious color

Olivier Bruel, Brand New

Reviewed Sep. 28, 2022

We collaborated closely with the brand team at Afresh and part of being good partners is handing off a system to work from.

Tools for a thriving brand team

Sarah Papp

Design Director, Afresh

Patagonia's initiative to protect millions of acres of world-class recreation, archeology, and culture.

This is Bears Ears

*Bears Ears National Monument* is a 1.35 million-acre expanse in southeastern Utah and the inspiration for our first collaboration with Patagonia. Home to thousands of sacred Native American cultural sites, world-class rock climbing, mountain biking, trail running and more, Bears Ears is as beautiful as it is diverse. This interactive experience is designed to celebrate the land and introduce the world to our newest National Monument.

To fully immerse the viewer in the imagery and stories, we designed a minimal user interface that recedes when not in use. This design allows the natural beauty of Bears Ears to shine through and serves as a subtle compliment to the vivid videography, imagery, and iconography we used.

Unobtrusive design, expansive views

This is Bears Ears is divided into three chapters: the story of the peoples who live there, the sporting that attracts new visitors, and the call to action to defend its historic designation.

Multilayer storytelling

Lisa Pike Sheehy

Vice President of Environmental Activism, Patagonia

Bears Ears

A digital platform from the de Young and Legion of Honor.

FAMSF Insights

*The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco* oversees two unique museums - the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park - and stands as one of the most visited arts institutions in the United States. We worked with their team to create Insights, an immersive digital platform that showcases their permanent collections and special exhibitions.

We worked closely with FAMSF to translate the in-person museum experience into this interactive, digital space. We interviewed incredible people across the institution and collaborated in workshops to find new ways to celebrate the breadth and diversity of their collections. Out of this process emerged a clear need to give the platform an identity of its own.

Strategy

We began by selecting a name that could represent the initiative and encourage visitors to discover more. Carefully crafted to leave room for interpretation, Insights captures the spirit of what can be seen both on the surface and upon deeper reflection. With context and a closer look, what might appear simple at face value becomes complex. Something new emerges. Something insightful appears from something in sight.

Naming

Every element of Insights was built for extensibility, allowing the platform to grow and change as the museums’ collections evolve. We created a robust component gallery that each emphasized different elements of the art. While some offered deep historical context, others brought users in close to look at the details of the artwork. Used together, this toolkit allows the curators to customize the pace and structure of the story they develop; arranging the components one way, they might tell one story, but rearranged another way visitors see something completely different.

Building for expansion

Insights

Improving fleet efficiency, performance, and customer service for last-mile delivery.

*Wise Systems'* state-of-the-art dispatch and routing software improves fleet efficiency, performance and customer service for last mile delivery. Its high-performing AI-driven engine is designed to meet the toughest deliveries with efficiency, analytics, and a pleasing interface. A spinoff of the MIT Media Lab, Wise System transforms fleets for driver satisfaction, increased utilization, and most importantly, perfect deliveries.

Wise Systems set out to optimize that last mile, where the expectations of customers, delivery recipients, drivers, dispatchers, and managers come together. We worked closely width their team to create messaging, headlines and copy that clearly gets the point across, while being mindful of their core audiences.

At the core of Wise Systems’ platform is a AI-driven dynamic optimization engine that continuously ingests data from operations, makes real-time decisions and uses machine learning to get better over time. Route optimization algorithms make intelligent routing decisions for a fleet. We wanted to represent this complex process in an intuitive visual system, showing movement through time, space and constantly changing conditions.

By combining the elements of the brand platform, we were able to talk meaningfully about their product without losing sight of the people that make their business. Whether on Instagram, on their website or in person, we ensured every touchpoint added to their success.

Wise Systems

A new kind of computer for everything you do.

Chromebooks

*Chromebooks* are a new kind of computer for everything you do. With the power of Chrome OS, access to millions of apps, the best of Google is built right in. The Chromebooks brand is vibrant and bold, approachable and friendly. We kept these brand attributes top of mind, introducing the premium models in an elevated yet authentic aesthetic. Premium device imagery allows the quality of the new Chromebooks to shine, while beautiful lifestyle photography highlights their unique adaptability in day to day settings.

The devices were, of course, the central element. We brought them to life using 3D animations rendered with WebGL, which allowed the Chromebooks to smoothly flip, fold, and cascade down the page. Throughout the site, we were careful to balance the light playfulness of the movement with grounded, confident positions so that the devices maintained a commanding presence on the page.

Beautiful Devices

Whether it’s back-office number crunching or movie watching on the couch, Chromebooks are flexible and reliable enough to take on the shuffle of a busy day. We captured beautiful, vivid, authentic interactions that demonstrate the many ways that people can use Chromebooks in their daily lives - from work to school, to family time and beyond.

There’s a Chromebook for everyone. We created tailored experiences for Chromebooks in work, education and family settings, highlighting the apps that matter most to those audiences.

For everyone

Almost a decade of holly, jolly fun working with our talented friends at Google.

Santa Tracker Back to work

*Santa Tracker* is an advent calendar-inspired town full of games to play, videos to watch, igloos to explore, and tidbits to learn. Each day of December unlocks new easter eggs in the village - from reindeer flight school to the friendly waving walrus - so kids always have something new to discover. With over 45 games, 18 videos, and a whole lot of eggnog, we had almost a decade of holly jolly fun working on Santa Tracker with the talented folks at Google.

Each day of December unlocks new easter eggs in the village - from reindeer flight school to the friendly waving walrus - so kids always have something new to discover. With so many holiday festivities in Santa’s village, it’s easy to wonder where to begin. We kept the calls to action super simple - Learn, Watch, and Play - so that kids and parents could see their options upfront and choose their path.

The Village

From slip-sliding penguins to dancing elves to Mrs. Claus herself, the everyone is here! As you explore the village you’ll find Santa’s family and friends frolicking about, with representation from all ages, backgrounds, body types, skin colors, abilities and gender expressions.

Everyone welcome

Of course, all of these games and goodies are built in anticipation of Santa’s big day - Christmas Eve. For a full 24 hours on December 24th, users can jump into city view, learn about holiday traditions in faraway lands and - most importantly - follow Santa as he makes his way from chimney to chimney, around the world.

The Big Night

Santa Tracker

Pathways to financial opportunity for millions of people.

Nova Credit reel

*Nova Credit* opens pathways to financial opportunity for people with limited credit history. By aggregating global credit bureau and bank transaction data, Nova Credit enable lenders and businesses to see borrowers in a new light, unlocking access to the financial system for millions of new people.

Nova Credit has helped hundreds of thousands of people leverage their full financial profile to unlock opportunities. Whether someone has great credit in another country that lenders can’t see, or they don’t have credit history at all. For businesses, Nova Credit unlocks unique data sources that help improve credit risk assessments, identifying more customers and gaining access to untapped markets.

Opportunity and access

We extended their brand around expressions of simplicity, optimism, opening doors and organic evolution. For a fast-moving company, the direction needed to be distinct but without the need for an extended turnaround time. Our focus was on people living their lives, worry free and happy - the outcome of the technology.

Portals to possibility

Every year, millions of creditworthy individuals are denied access to financing because lenders can’t access the right data to assess their financial responsibility. Nova Credit unlocks unique data sources that help businesses improve their credit risk assessment, identifying more customers and gaining access to untapped markets. In this, we never wanted to lose sight of the human perspective.

Expanding access for a more vibrant world

Marcio Gutheil

Senior Art Director

Nova Credit

A San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps under-resourced students through free educational programs.

826 Valencia

*826 Valencia* is a San Francisco based nonprofit that helps under-resourced students develop their writing skills and channel their creativity through free educational programs. We embraced the whimsical adventure of the 826 tutoring centers and applied it to all things digital.

We expanded their color palette, illustrated a crazy cast of characters, and paired a handwritten script with a woodblock-inspired headline type for a creative, welcoming energy.

Bita Nazarian

Executive Director, 826 Valencia

Each 826 location has its own wildly imaginative theme that immerses students into a whole new world of writing along with a magical storefront magic. We worked infuse this spirit into their ecommerce website, focusing in on ease-of-use and usability.

Cutting through the complexity of systems monitoring to clear the way for developers.

Lightstep

*Lightstep* helps developers navigate their increasingly fragile software systems, so that when there’s an issue, they can find out what’s happening and why, fast. From healthcare and transportation to education and business, virtually every aspect of modern life is built on a layer of code. So developers today no longer have the luxury of moving fast and breaking things. We worked with Lightstep to create a brand that could cut through the complexity of the observability space with approachability and ease.

Managing deep systems can be chaotic. With unexpected firedrills and blame shifting across teams, the frantic search for solutions can breed a highly stressful environment. So we created a world of collective clarity. A world where developers can build products faster, push code with confidence and push the world forward.

The mark exists in a constant state of evolution and transformation, offering a nod to the ever-changing nature of these technology systems. Angular and geometric, its exterior takes on endless variations. Yet for every shape it takes, there is always an insight to be found within.

Identity

The silhouette of our evolving polygon became a core brand element to visualize a sense of relief from noise and complexity. Simple and flexible, these shapes easily adapt to become containers for artwork, text, floods of color and more. The palette is kept to just four brand colors, reinforcing the idea of clarity with optimism and delight.

With a product that centers on dashboarding, data flow and statistics, Lightstep’s illustration style needed to balance technical detail and playful abstraction. Motion and interactivity were core to our approach, bringing the brand to life across applications and interfaces.

A pay-over-time solution that lets shoppers say yes to more of the things they love.

Affirm

*Affirm* is a pay-over-time solution that lets shoppers say yes to more of the things they love. By offering transparent, fairly-priced loans, Affirm is challenging traditional credit cards and transforming the banking industry for the better. No late fees. No surprises.

Affirm was just beginning to explore their new brand when we started the project. We collaborated with their team to push their color and pattern explorations further and explored motion as a way to double down on approachability.

Pushing the brand

Showcasing the UI and highlighting real people helps the product feel familiar and inviting.

We built a custom CMS to provide the team with flexibility to A/B test new modules and respond to analytics insights over time.

A flexible system

By helping customers say yes to more of the things they love, Affirm also empowers thousands of merchants grow their business. We created a customized experience for key industries to help them connect with customers old and new.