After a life-altering experience with plant-based therapy, entrepreneur, CEO and founder, and Shark Tank SA investor – Marnus Broodryk – wants to share the benefits of plant medicine with the world. His latest Web3 venture, called Mind Monks, aims to do the following:
Destigmatise psychedelic therapy.
Expand access to plant-based medicines and mindful practices beyond the counterculture and hippie-only stereotypes – to include people working in high-stress environments like business sectors.
Build a community of like-minded people on a collective journey to learn and share their knowledge of alternative medicines.
Address the global mental health crisis.
The project includes a collection of 888 NFTs with the goal to build multiple global retreat centres called Monasteries. Here, community members called Monks can experience plant medicine ceremonies in a safe environment facilitated by the best teachers, scientists, and thought-leaders in the world.
Mind Monks intersects mental, physical, and spiritual wellness with Web3. We needed to create a visual bridge connecting these worlds. And at the same time, a brand with a clear aesthetic and message to grow and engage a powerful community of like-minded people.
This led to the following:
A whitepaper that provides the project philosophy, NFT utility, and credible resources on psychedelics and their benefits.
A minimalistic logotype inspired by Crown Chakra symbolism.
An impactful brand aesthetic aligning purpose and passion with strategic design.
An NFT collection of 888 Mind Monks to create an exclusive community of Monks.
“I want to learn with 888 friends”
— Marnus
“Personal passions aligning with extremely sound design and strategic intention – that’s what sets us apart from everybody else in the world.”
— Sheldon
“This juxtaposition of the physical and the non-physical are central to our brand and offering. In making our visual language, we’ve married these two worlds to create a visual bridge, in as calm, warm, and minimalistic fashion as possible.”
— William
Strategy
After a series of brainstorming sessions and workshops with Marnus, we gained valuable insight into his passions and intentions for Mind Monks.
Psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms (magic mushrooms) have proven mental health benefits. Yet, they’re not readily available to the public. Marnus wants to change this by combining the power of plant medicine with the potential of NFTs.
These are intended to provide people with a safe place to destress, heal, and experience spiritual growth – using plant-based medicines and mindfulness practices. And at the heart of the project is a community of like-minded people – specifically high-performance entrepreneurs – coming together to exchange knowledge and shared experiences.
“We don’t want to be just another retreat. We want to be a retreat centre for high-performance entrepreneurs and like-minded people coming together in a community.” – Sheldon
With the above clarity, we built out a whitepaper. This included credible resources and research on mental health, alternative medicines, and mindful practices and outlined the NFT utilities and benefits for potential Monks.
Mind Monks ultimately bridges Web3 with mental and physical well-being IRL. With this knowledge, our design team could begin building the Mind Monk brand identity and NFTs.
Design
The scope of the brand offered design opportunities in both Web3 and IRL.
With the teachings of the Monasteries rooted in both physical and mental well-being with a digital Web3 framework, we explored ways in which we could bring these aspects together to form the brand's visual language.
This led us to the concept of Chakras, specifically the Crown Chakra (Mind, connection to spirit, and self-knowledge). Inspired by this symbolism, we developed a typemark using the geometry of a single petal from the lotus flower. Adding to this, we incorporated line work to contrast with the curved symbol and represent the coming together of the two worlds, physical and digital.
Together, the imagery parallels the geometry that makes up our logotype.
Finally, the brand colours, which include Pantone sand and void (light and dark), foster a sense of calm on the one hand and embody the contrast between Web3 technology and spirituality on the other.
Impact
The result includes the following:
An impactful brand identity connecting wellness with Web3
The Mind Monks whitepaper outlining the project purpose and opportunities
A minimalistic logotype inspired by the concept of the Crown Chakra (mind) contrasted with structured linework (digital)
A collection of 888 Mind Monk NFTs
Credit
Partner: Marnus Broodryk
Executive Creative Director: Ross Drakes
Creative Director and Strategist: Sheldon Stewart
Designer: William Rech
Animator: David Hillier
Strategist: Jason Tuohy
Producer: Robyn Miguel