Datalane
Task
Datalane had technology for finding and organising local-business data, but no established brand or website. It needed to earn enterprise buyers’ trust and stand apart from Clay’s more playful approach.
Solution
We built Datalane’s identity around a dot: a data point and a business on a map. In nine weeks, it became a brand and website.
Country
Industry
Length
Year
An experimental first direction helped sharpen the brief. Datalane wanted the confidence of a focused identity that enterprise buyers could trust. We narrowed the palette to black, white and blue, and let individual data points become the foundation of the graphic system.
Each dot represents both a point in Datalane’s data layer and a local business on a map. Together, the dots form a recognisable monogram. Across the wider identity, they become maps, charts, diagrams and illustrations: many small pieces making a larger picture.
We paired direct sans-serif headings with serif body text that feels more comfortable across longer reads. Geist Mono gives labels and technical moments their own voice.
Data visualisation is the core of the system. Maps locate businesses. Plots reveal coverage, gaps and distribution. Diagrams show how scattered records become usable information. The same dots that form the logo help Datalane explain what its technology knows.
The system works at different speeds. On the website, a headline frames the problem while a map or chart shows what Datalane can uncover. In the app, the same visual language helps people work with that information. On social channels, it makes even a quick post recognisably Datalane.
A dot changes meaning depending on where it appears. In the monogram, points form a single recognisable shape. On a map, each one locates a business. In a chart, points show distribution, gaps, or relationships that are difficult to see in a spreadsheet. The same unit can carry the identity at different scales, from an app icon to an explanation of an entire market.
The first Datalane selling guide ran to more than 80 pages. We designed its structure for screen and print, with isometric illustrations, GTM diagrams and data visualisations built in R. It gave the identity room to explain complex ideas at length.
In motion, points gather, separate and settle into a larger picture. That movement from many to one shapes the easing, pacing and rhythm of transitions. We carried the rhythm into sound: an entry cue, background melodies and small sonic details make a Datalane video recognisable even without the image.
Datalane asked us to continue as its design partner as soon as the nine-week project ended. The identity now extends across its product, guides, sales materials, videos, AI agent mascot and office and continues to grow with the company.
