As enterprises allocated billions to Ethereum staking, no industry-wide security standard existed for evaluating node operator risk. Under After created the brand identity for NORS (Node Operator Risk Standard), the first enterprise-grade certification developed by a consortium of 11+ partners including Alluvial, Blockdaemon, Coinbase, Figment, KPMG, PwC, and Aon.
Alluvial convened a working group of 11+ industry partners including Coinbase, Blockdaemon, Figment, KPMG, PwC, and Aon to develop the first enterprise-grade certification standard for Ethereum validators.
Under After developed the brand identity for NORS during the certification framework development phase. The brand needed to signal institutional credibility and objectivity. Under After positioned NORS as an industry-led standard, emphasizing voluntary adoption and operational excellence. The visual identity balanced technical precision with approachability through simple geometric forms. Inspired by the geometric simplicity of the Liquid Collective brand, the symmetrical NORS brand symbol represents node operator excellence: circles symbolize node operators, the middle square represents collaboration, and the star at its center represents excellence.
Under After delivered the complete brand system including logo, typography, color palette, certification badge designs, limited apparel edition, and website in weeks to align with the September 2024 launch. The website launched with interactive certification registry and assessor directory functionality.
The brand identity established NORS as the first recognized certification standard for Ethereum node operators, creating a category that previously did not exist. The certification framework provided institutions with a standardized evaluation methodology, reducing duplicated assessment efforts across the industry. The September 30, 2024 launch event brought together executives from major blockchain infrastructure firms, professional services companies, and specialized staking platforms to discuss the standard's implementation and future development.
The project included event identity development, coordination, and production coordination for the NORS / NYC kickoff event at The Standard Hotel in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, bringing together working group members, enterprise validators, and institutional participants for five panel discussions addressing validator security, audit frameworks, and certification standards.
Services: Naming, Brand Strategy, Brand Identity, Apparel Design, Web Design & Development, Event Production
Launch: September 30, 2024 · Visit Site · NYC Event
Context: Work performed while Mark Forscher served as Chief Marketing Officer at Alluvial. Project team included Melissa Nelson (Marketing), Evan Weiss (COO), Josh Siverson (Solutions Architect), and Chad Peterson (Business Operations).