Toqio is a London-based embedded finance platform that provides a no-code/low-code SaaS solution for corporates and financial institutions to build and scale tailored financial products. The company was founded in 2019 by Michael Galvin and Eduardo Martinez Garcia. Its visual identity has undergone a significant evolution since its early days as a blockchain venture, with a notable rebranding project completed in 2021.
Design and History
Toqio’s name and identity trace back to a 2018 blockchain venture created by the same founding team within the GoMadrid tech ecosystem. The name derives from the word “token”: the “Toq” part comes from token, with the “Q” featuring two dashes symbolizing the Toqio coin, a nod to the company’s blockchain roots. The “io” represented the technology layer, the foundation of blockchain itself. The company initially operated under the name LUM (meaning “light” in Esperanto) before reviving the Toqio name after discovering another company had registered LUM as an EU trademark. [1]
In spring 2021, Toqio began a rebranding project with Madrid-based studio Acute & Creative, just before announcing its first investment round. [2] The studio’s work resulted in a new logo described as laconic, simple in visual perception, and memorable. The identity opened a new creative path for the brand based on the resource of spheres, with a three-dimensional geometric sphere used as a key element to represent intelligence and innovation. [3]
According to Toqio’s own account, the brand was given “a new look, more modern, more aligned with who we are today,” though the heart behind it remained the same. [1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The color palette of the rebranded identity was inspired by the lights of the evening Tokyo skyline, with the turquoise of old Tokyo adopted as the main color. The studio made efforts to accurately reflect the features and effects of gradient transitions in the color treatment. [3]
The sphere, a three-dimensional geometric figure, was introduced as a key element to represent intelligence and innovation, with animation solutions used to increase visual impact on users. [3]
Typography and Design
Acute & Creative used a rounded and thicker typeface for the Toqio wordmark, which is reflected in the letters “o” and “q” (the latter losing its upper “ponytail”). A graphic change was applied to the structure of the letter “t” in the font, making it resemble a Japanese hieroglyph, as the brand name is consonant with the name of the Japanese capital. This made the visual brand unique and provided recognition, distinguishing it from similar platforms. [3]
Beyond the corporate logo, Toqio’s platform design system, named Nigiri, is intentionally neutral. As a white-label platform, Toqio avoids an overly strong visual identity in its product UI, opting instead to be “demure and discreet,” allowing clients to fully customize the look and feel of their own branded financial solutions. [4]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
