D3: Design System & Website by TWID

Branding

Web

Task

Develop a design system and website for D3—a seed-stage venture fund for founders creating advanced technological products for national security.

Additionally, one of the foundation’s tasks was “building bridges” between Ukraine and allied countries by spreading awareness of our technologies and attracting investment.

The D3 team supports innovators from around the world. These innovators help Ukraine advance democracy by defending against external threats and hostile actions. The courage of Ukrainians in facing these challenges inspired the fund’s team, leading to the name “Dare to Defend Democracy.”

Challenge

There were several challenges. The main one was confidentiality: during the design process, it was crucial to maintain the secrecy of the technologies so that we couldn’t work with real content. At the same time, we needed to illustrate the activities of the companies supported by the fund without using direct references.

Equally important was ensuring the identity resonated with different audiences: potential talents and startups—the younger segment—and investors—a more mature and established group.

Solution

These constraints inspired us to optimize the design system by eliminating all unnecessary elements.

It was important not to lose meaningful accents and hints that could visualize the fund’s field of activity. The first idea that came to mind was to use abstract and indirect 3D models of drones and technological elements. The next thought, which immediately addressed all our challenges, was to utilize AI tools—but more on that later.

The logo became the central element of our system. In this context, the name “D3” was our main source of inspiration—both in meaning and visually. The shapes of the letter and number in the logo resemble a directed charge, uniting all efforts into a single focused movement.

We applied the idea of a cumulative charge to the layout, where the letters “D” disperse to the corners and become frames for any content, reinforcing the concept of focus. In the animations of headings, we continued the idea of a shot embedded in the D3 logo. The text appears sharply, like a burst.

Visual hints included 3D graphics and generated images. For the 3D elements, we focused on two key themes: dynamic particle emitters—animations of a brief launch phase that often served as backgrounds — and static close-ups of various technological objects.

Midjourney and ChatGPT helped us scale these elements — we crafted prompts based on the company’s description and the style of 3D images, allowing us to quickly generate visuals for any need. In our case, this meant tailored images for each organization and its field of activity.

A set of utilitarian icons also illustrates areas we need to discuss but cannot show directly. They are based on the principles of the logo’s construction and appear assembled from individual particles.

“Another stylistic element was the use of focus and tuning effects. This is well illustrated on the site’s main page. For example, the block describing the fund’s support is implemented as a dial, reminiscent of those in mechanical devices. This focus effect is also evident in hover states on buttons and in the header.

The absence of color is a defining feature. Almost everywhere, only a white background with black text is used, or vice versa. For precise accents and backgrounds, such as in slide decks, we borrow colors from the 3D graphics”.
— Anna Poly, Web Designer at twid.

Elia Checheneva

Partner at D3 fund

“We aimed to create an identity and website that fully reflect the ideas of precision, focus, and movement. The logo became the central element around which the entire design concept was built. A minimalist approach using only black and white allows us to concentrate on the content, while dynamic 3D elements and icons emphasize the technological essence of our brand. Every site element is thoughtfully designed to showcase our values and approach to work.”

Result

In its first year of operation, D3 became the most active defense-focused investor in Europe. The goal of creating a bridge to transfer Ukrainian technologies to allied countries was achieved.

During the year of work, the D3 team already has 14 companies in its portfolio, and more than 500 companies are under development. Detailed information about companies on the website.