A truly exceptional brand identity does more than just look good. It communicates a core truth so profoundly that it feels inevitable. For Jupi, an AI-powered decision-making OS, the challenge was immense: how do you visually represent an invisible, complex process? The answer, crafted by the brilliant minds at How&How, was a stunning Magritte-inspired rebrand that blends logic with the lyrical, turning corporate complexity into surrealist art. This project isn’t just a new logo and color palette; it’s a masterclass in strategic storytelling, proving that even the most advanced technology can have a human, poetic soul.
Scaling a business introduces a paradox. As leaders achieve more success, they must delegate more, deliberate more, and consequently, can feel their grip on the company’s direction loosen. This isn’t a failure of leadership. Instead, it’s a natural byproduct of growth. The very systems put in place to manage this growth can often add layers of bureaucracy and noise, leading to frustration and decision paralysis. So, how do you restore clarity without adding even more complexity?
The Challenge: Untangling Corporate Complexity
Imagine the immense pressure on a C-suite. Every decision carries weight, impacting teams, budgets, and the company’s future. In an effort to maintain control and steer the ship correctly, leaders often implement new processes or frameworks. Unfortunately, these well-intentioned choices can sometimes backfire, creating bottlenecks and slowing everything down. The result is a culture where decisions are either delayed or made in silos, disconnected from the overarching strategy. This is the precise friction point that Jupi, the brainchild of serial entrepreneur Nick Hernandez (founder of 360 Learning), was built to eliminate.
Enter Jupi: An OS for Surreally Simple Decisions
Jupi isn’t just another productivity tool. It’s an intelligent operating system built directly into your company’s workflow. Think of it as a central nervous system for your business. The AI learns from your team’s actions, understands your company culture, and analyzes your habits. Subsequently, it aligns every single choice—from minor tasks to major strategic pivots—with your ultimate goals. It’s similar to how a sales team uses a CRM to generate reliable forecasts. Jupi gives leaders that same level of control over their company’s decision-making fabric.
This system fosters trust, helps eliminate unconscious bias, and empowers every single person involved. Whether you are a decision-maker, a decision-taker, or a decision-shaper, Jupi creates a transparent, rapid-fire culture. The effect is transformative. It makes the complicated feel simple. Surreally simple, in fact. This very feeling of surreal simplicity gave the How&How branding agency a unique creative license. With the functional side of Jupi so elegantly handled, the brand could stop overthinking and just be.
The Creative Leap: A Magritte-Inspired Rebrand Takes Shape
So, how do you brand “surreal simplicity”? You embrace it. How&How leaned directly into the world of surrealism, particularly the thought-provoking work of René Magritte. Why Magritte? His art plays with perception, placing ordinary objects in extraordinary contexts to challenge our view of reality. Doesn’t that sound a lot like what Jupi does—taking the ordinary data of a business and revealing extraordinary clarity? This Magritte-inspired rebrand was not a stylistic whim; it was a deeply strategic choice. It positions Jupi not as a cold, robotic AI, but as a source of poetic, intuitive intelligence. It’s a bold move that separates Jupi from a sea of generic tech brands.
Deconstructing the Visuals: From Rodin to René Magritte
The genius of this identity lies in its interconnected elements, each telling a piece of the story.
The Logo: Intelligence in Motion
The creative team started by asking, What if Rodin’s “The Thinker” stood up and started moving? The result is the Jupi logo—a character that personifies active intelligence. It’s not just about contemplation; it’s about cerebral insight put into clear, intentional action. This figure literally and figuratively moves the brand forward.
The Illustrations: The Heart of the Brand
Here is where the Magritte-inspired rebrand truly comes to life. The illustrations are a collection of serene and strange metaphorical scenes. Each one is a playful yet profound reflection of the challenges Jupi solves daily. You might see a figure confidently walking a tightrope over a complex maze, symbolizing mastery over complexity. Another image might show a team effortlessly aligning giant celestial bodies, communicating collaboration and harmony. These visuals aren’t just decorative. They are the emotional core of the brand, communicating themes of trust, control, and clarity in a way that words alone cannot.
Typography, Iconography, and Motion
To ground the surreal visuals, the brand system uses a serious, highly legible typeface that still feels approachable and not overly “corporate.” The iconography is built from the rugged, strong forms of the logo character, ensuring visual consistency. Perhaps most cleverly, the motion design melts and morphs with a dreamlike quality, reminiscent of Salvador Dalí’s fluid clocks. It all comes together to form a brand system as powerfully effective as the decisions Jupi itself facilitates.
Why This Branding Works So Well for a Tech Startup
In a marketplace crowded with tech startups vying for attention, differentiation is everything. Jupi could have opted for a safe, minimalist aesthetic with blues and sans-serif fonts. Many do. Instead, the collaboration with How&How resulted in a brand that is memorable, emotionally resonant, and endlessly fascinating.
But how does a floating apple or a man walking on clouds help sell an AI platform? It works because it bypasses purely logical persuasion and connects on a deeper level. The surrealist approach perfectly mirrors Jupi’s value proposition: transforming the chaotic and complex into something clear, elegant, and almost magical. This branding case study for a tech startup demonstrates that the most powerful communication happens when logic and emotion are in perfect harmony. It inspires curiosity. It makes you stop and think. And in a world of endless scrolling, that is a monumental achievement.
This Magritte-inspired rebrand is more than just a success for Jupi and How&How. It’s a signpost for the future of branding, where creativity and strategy intertwine to tell stories that are not only seen but felt.
Any footage © How&How. Feel free to find other inspiring projects from around the globe in the Graphic Design, Branding, and Illustration categories here at WE AND THE COLOR.
