Oceans cover more than 70% of the earth’s surface, yet only a fraction of that surface has been mapped by humans. It’s often said we know more about the surface of the moon than of our own home planet.
Bedrock Ocean Exploration is trying to change that. Committed to providing the world with a deeper understanding of global ocean landscapes, Bedrock collects, stores and visualizes seafloor data with new technologies that are cheaper, more efficient and more environmentally-friendly than previous tech. Oceans are central to all life on earth, integral to climate and weather, food, trade, communication and more. As a certified public benefit corporation, Bedrock works to make sure our knowledge of this vital resource is both accurate and actionable for industry and government alike.
While Bedrock’s focus is the seafloor, its mission is all about data. The company, led by alumni from SpaceX and Nautilus Labs, came to Giorgia Lupi and her team for help in evolving their current visual identity and exploring new ways of communicating Bedrock’s data-driven potential to the wider world. Working closely with Founder Anthony DiMare, Pentagram established a holistic brand language, complete with data visualization, for Bedrock to tell evidence-based stories about the company’s mission, methodology and impact. The re-invigorated brand expression coincided with the announcement of the company's $25.5 million Series A raise.
Bedrock’s new visual language is purposefully cinematic, meant to evoke the inherent drama of ocean exploration and deep-sea discovery. Pentagram designed custom data visualizations emphasizing circularity and coordinate points, motifs pulled from Bedrock’s existing logomark but also meant to evoke radar imagery. Graphs and diagrams were built using this essentialized form language, making Bedrock’s often incredibly complex quantifications accessible to a lay reader.
These visualizations are then married with expressive photography of the sea floor and Bedrock’s mapping technology in action. Diagrammatic illustrations of seafloor topography are employed as patterns for additional visual interest. Color is also relatively constrained as a means of narrowing attention on the visualizations. Type is set in the classic ITC Avant Garde, with a monospace typeface used for small labels. The entire system was created with an eye to Bedrock’s audience, a diverse coalition of government agencies, private industry, and industry observers who need to perceive the brand as robust, credible, and technologically savvy.
As Bedrock readied itself for a new public chapter, Pentagram designed multiple communications, from investor pitch decks to the company’s holiday card, all utilizing the new system. An Impact Report, chock full of seafloor imagery, diagrams and data visualizations, articulates Bedrock’s activities for the past year. Pentagram designed the report, including its information design, and advised on messaging. Pentagram also designed collateral and environmental graphics for US Offshore Wind 2023, an annual conference that brings together the current leaders in offshore wind development.
