"We seek inspiration where
others are afraid to look.
We like solutions,
but we love problems.
We don’t just reach for the stars,
we create them and
Hold on for dear life.
We fight gravity."
WD_Black
holistic
strategy
brand
packaging
product
Through a holistic design approach, Astro worked with Western Digital’s executive leadership and design teams to craft a new brand specifically for the gaming market. Over a year and a half relationship, Astro defined the strategy, crafted the visual identity and industrial design language, developed packaging guidelines, and brought it all to life through a brand awareness campaign. The result is a cohesive brand and family of products that's uniquely differentiated and positioned to define a new category—performance storage for gaming.
We crafted a cohesive point of view based on research and insights that served as the foundation for the brand strategy and positioning, including how the new brand should best live within the larger family of Western Digital brands and products.
WD_Black aims to stand out in the sea of RGB gaming products with a function-forward, no-nonsense design approach. Forms and aesthetics were inspired by military-grade containment items, derived from the everyday storage around us, using tried and true long-lasting forms and materials such as stamped and cast metals, which also function to help dissipate heat.
This holistic design approach extended well beyond the physical design language, as the brand was designed hand-in-hand with the product offerings. High contrast branding and labeling was applied to the drives to give them a distinct and recognizable aesthetic without adding to the visual clutter of users' gaming setups. The visual identity system builds on these cues and takes a minimal, technical approach, pulling inspiration from coding languages and precision tools.
This holistic design approach extended well beyond the physical design language, as the brand was designed hand-in-hand with the product offerings. High contrast branding and labeling was applied to the drives to give them a distinct and recognizable aesthetic without adding to the visual clutter of users' gaming setups. The visual identity system builds on these cues and takes a minimal, technical approach, pulling inspiration from coding languages and precision tools.
