Overlay was conceptualized as just that: an overlay on the pre-existing world. An object that exists in the metaverse of decentralization with which we create, observe, produce, and have greater participation with the things that matter most to us.
The possibilities within our technological world are limitless, or at least becoming more and more so. Overlay’s mission is to enable financial participation in our limitless world.
A de-limitation of barriers, a protuberance of markets – an outgrowth of capacity to fulfill our participation in DeFi, stonks, natural and political data, our own social and physical wellbeing, layers and layers of transactions in a system with so many nooks and crannies it’s impossible to fully imagine.
So, how do we design a protocol that’s supposed to begin with everything? In creation, if you design for everything, nothing has significance. The spectrum of possibilities is too great.
The answer, frens?
Cats.
Let us explain.
Our team has a deep appreciation of scientific rigour, mathematical dexterity, and, of course, the absurd.
Few things, in our opinion, are as beautifully absurd as cats and our social infatuation with them.
They emote, they’re obsessive, they’re the 2nd most successful hunters in the animal kingdom (behind dragonflies). Also, they’re cool, fuzzy, and turned out to be an aesthetic we liked.
Which, in effect, helps us answer the question of how we design for everything. What does a cat do if it doesn’t like something on the shelf? It knocks it off. If the spectrum of possibilities is too great, then delete the spectrum. Delete, and we’re left with the two ends. We enjoy hard-core scientific reality and absurdities, so we embrace that juxtaposition. And so, the Overlay design ethos was born.
Our mascot, Planck Cat, an innocent pondering of a 5 year old, perfectly encapsulates what we strive to be, and to create: an absurdist surreality derived from mathematical theorem.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ENMIbQUvNtuAbIgRXsEgKn7QJhaD1OYUkwYy6p_6niDrdEVBSnTwt5afej7SSfqIXRxxOMxlWyflU4bfIjJZEs0UiVmfcdqjzfh8lRdqPmsJVNtuMky8rzJpMQO1QYJ9kzBBE7Qf
Some additional thoughts pre-style guide:
Absurdist, organic, shapeless, subjective = circle
Math, science, 111*1 = 1, equal, objective = square
Thus we also fulfill our dichromatic nature. Circle and square represent two sides of the spectrum. They’re simple, and lovely and triangles don’t allow enough possibilities.
With limitless markets, the tendency is to have all the colors. Allow a part of our system to have non-definition, as long as it meets good contrast ratios. This should work, however, we'll have consistent colors for common components like buttons, longs/shorts, etc. These are still being finalized but will be published in the Style Guide.