Token launches: when to freeze visual identity before the TGE noise

Token generation events compress attention into hours. Most teams optimize for the countdown graphic and forget the screens people touch the week after: claim flows, staking UIs, support bots, bridge instructions. Those are where trust is won or lost.

T-minus eight weeks: narrative and hierarchy

Decide the one sentence you defend when chat turns toxic. Build visual hierarchy around that sentence — not around ten feature bullets. Your explorers, docs, and Twitter assets should echo the same hierarchy.

T-minus four weeks: frozen components

Wallet prompts, transaction states, and error patterns should use final type, color, and icon rules. Late swaps here break QA and invite phishing comparisons — users pattern-match sloppy UI with risk.

Launch week: campaign layer only

Leave room for tactical banners and partner co-mark, but do not fork the core system. A temporary colorway is fine; a second logo is not.

Post-launch: retention brand

We help teams plan the "day 30" site: education, roadmap clarity, contributor stories. That is still brand work — just slower tempo.

If you are past ideation and still debating foundational type, call for a focused identity sprint. It is cheaper than relaunching trust.