I'm a huge chess fan, so when I learned about Chessiverse, I instantly loved the idea. The platform has a ton of personality but I wondered what it could look like if we fully embraced the universe and galaxy themes.
This self-initiated project gave me a chance to reimagine a brand from the ground up. From brand identity, copywriting, to marketing, web, and product design, to experiential design—it all gave me the space to explore what the future of Chessiverse could look like.
Chessiverse offers access to about a dozen free bots. To access all 500+ bots (plus other other features), you need a premium subscription. Drawing on chess terminology, I proposed renaming their premium model to Chessiverse Brilliant.
In chess, a brillancy, or brilliant move, is one that is both beautiful and strategic. It often requires a piece sacrifice and results in a significant (usually winning) advantage.
The Chessiverse Star Cup doesn't exist—yet. But I wanted to imagine a world where Chessiverse grows into a brand large enough to host its own chess competition. Drawing the biggest names and streamers in chess, humans and bots would compete against each other to win the Chessiverse Star Cup.
The challenge was to show how the Chessiverse Star Cup brand—with its on-air graphics and in-studio experiences—can live within the same world as the Chessiverse parent brand.
Being a small company with tons on their roadmap, Chessiverse couldn’t commit to a full rebrand. But we all agreed to stay in touch about it. I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing some pieces of this project out in the galaxy.
“I always like how forward-looking you are — the logo design, how it might look on merch, Chessiverse Brilliant, and even the Chessiverse Star Cup. It’s beautiful.”
John Bartholomew
Co-Founder, Chessiverse & Chess YouTuber
