Shift Robotics
Shift Robotics is building a future where navigating cities is more enjoyable and where public space is better utilized. This ambitious company is developing new form-factors of intuitive personal mobility products that reduce pollution and allow the rider to re-establish an intimate connection with their urban environment.
Idol was hired to develop a responsive visual identity system, 3D product renders, video & photo content and site to launch the brand.
Building the brand ecosystem for "the world's fastest shoes" was a balance of precision and approachability.
In developing the identity, we had to strike the right balance between feeling technical and engineered, while still being consumer-friendly and approachable. Because Shift Robotics was introducing an entirely new product and form factor, the brand also needed to serve an educational role—showcasing tangible lifestyle use cases that helped potential customers understand not just how the product worked, but how it could seamlessly fit into their everyday lives.
Idol's work exceeded all our expectations and truly captured the essence of our company's values and vision. Thanks to the team's creativity and attention to detail, we successfully launched our brand and have driven real growth.
Down Shift
Creative Direction, Naming, Brand Identity System, Packaging Design
Shift Robotics
Shift Robotics is building a future where navigating cities is more enjoyable and where public space is better utilized. This ambitious company is developing new form-factors of intuitive personal mobility products that reduce pollution and allow the rider to re-establish an intimate connection with their urban environment.
Idol was hired to develop a responsive visual identity system, 3D product renders, video & photo content and site to launch the brand.
Challenge
How do you launch the world’s fastest shoes?
Approach + Solution
The Shift Moonwalkers™ are positioned as the world’s fastest shoes. Users can literally walk at the speed of a run while wearing this innovative personal mobility device. The intelligent AI-powered system increases normal walking speed by over 3x, all within a user’s normal gait. Moonwalkers™ work by providing a gentle motorized push with each step, increasing stride and speed.
But how does one launch an entirely new product category to market, especially one that claims to be the world’s fastest shoe?
To start, you assemble a strong team of engineers, designers, and creators. We were lucky to be working with such a solid core team right from the get-go. The founders themselves were Carnegie Mellon University engineering graduates, focused on robotics. Discommon was the remarkable Industrial Design and Engineering team behind the product form factor. They designed and developed a device that straps to a user’s foot, similar to a rollerskate — making it somewhat familiar and easy to adopt, while modernizing the overall aesthetic. And we led the charge on the brand’s visual design and identity system, site, content production, app design and more. Our initial delivery included an identity and design system that looked to the future, utilizing modern, tech-focused typography, simple bold colors, and dynamic imagery that captured the essence of the product. All of this culminated in a series of teaser and launch videos, produced by Partum, that really capitalized the launch resulting in endless impressions and press.
Our process began with brand strategy and positioning, informed by key stakeholder interviews, and assessing the landscape of adjacent competitors or similar industries. Even though Segways, electric scooters and electric skateboards have been around for a few years, this was an entirely new type of product with plenty of white space.
The visual identity was designed to reflect the brand's innovative and cutting-edge technology, providing a streamlined and sleek feel. The logo’s icon was derived by splitting an abstract 'S' shape and literally shifting the two pieces to create a unique and ownable identifier. The Shift wordmark used a technical, slim and slightly extended typeface to mimic the smooth glide of the product.
TT Hoves was selected for the primary typographic choice, a Scandinavian sans font that feels modern and technical. Paired with a color palette containing deep blacks and neutral grays to correlate back to asphalt and concrete surfaces, we elected to inject hits of electric yellow as a node to E-powered mobility. All of these elements come together to create a sleek and futuristic look.
To ensure the brand identity could be applied consistently across all touch-points, we developed a comprehensive brand guideline document to govern the elegant system. This document outlined the usage of the brand's logo, typography, color palette, imagery, and tone of voice. Additionally, we created key design deliverables in preparation of launch, including the website, social media templates, packaging concepts, merchandise, and print collateral. All of which seamless showcased the precise implementation of the brand identity.
Our creative leadership evolved to oversee the entire ecosystem — from producing high fidelity video and photo content, to immaculate 3D renders, technical illustrations and full design and development of the Shift site. With each iteration and release we give customers more insight into the Shift brand and the endless usecases for Moonwalkers.
Results
Shift Moonwalkers™ amassed nearly 80 million impressions on TikTok.
The team exceeded their pre-order goal by more than 2x, and surpassed their funding goal by 300+%
Featured press included Hypebeast, Wired, TechCrunch, Uncrate, TIME, New York Post, CNN, USA Today, Reuters, and more.
Clients
Xunjie Zhang and Joseph Yang