Maven Creative paint a picture of the pioneering work of Breaking

Born from the innovative powerhouse Colossal Biosciences, Breaking is not your average plastic degradation company – it’s a catalyst for a cleaner, greener planet. At the heart of this revolution is MICROBE X-32™, a gamechanger with the potential to drastically overhaul the way we manage plastic waste, tackling even the most stubbornly resistant types of plastics that have, until now, defied degradation.

Crafted by the team at Florida-based brand strategy and design studio Maven Creative, Breaking’s identity channels the kinetic energy of Microbe X-32™ and its world-altering enzyme – that has the potential to break down the toughest of plastics – into an unconventional and engaging brand world. Sparked by the name itself, the team built a brand identity that champions the optimistic and disruptive spirit of the company – delivered through a design system that contrasts a sleek visual language against the hard truth of plastic waste.

“Breaking needed to be more than just the process of breaking down plastics,” says Design Director Sean Jones. “It needed to be more about breaking systems and old models in order to change the world.” The brand anthem that Maven Creative wrote encompasses this spirit – “Breaking through. Breaking global news. Breaking toxic compounds.

Breaking plastics apart. Breaking decades of environmental harm in half. Breaking manufacturing paradigms. Breaking stale science. Breaking all the bad. Reviving all the good. Breaking. Plastic Degradation Sciences.”

Blending Displaay’s Roobert and Pangram Pangram’s NeueBit, the wordmark communicates the brand’s duality. “On one hand, it’s breaking apart and on the other hand, it’s being re-engineered,” says Jones, highlighting the wordmark’s emphasis on plastic degradation. “Roobert is a clean and smooth geometric sans serif,” he says, which felt reminiscent of the moulded objects we associate with the world of plastics. “Then we used NeueBit as a base for something pixelating or breaking apart,” he continues. Echoing the look of NeueBit, pixelation is extensively used throughout the identity to reveal the harsh reality of plastic pollution, while also symbolising the breakdown of problematic materials.

This inspired Maven Creative to consider how decaying plastic could be visualised. “We started producing AI-generated images of decomposing and melting plastics to get a sense of what a future looks like where plastics could decompose faster,” he continues. “We got a lot of things melting, and it became a bit grotesque and not as exciting.” Given the project’s exciting nature that focuses on an amazing discovery, the team was careful to avoid distractions that could diminish this. “So we looked at bitmap animations,” Jones says, which focuses more on the energy of plastics disappearing. “Breaking down chemical compounds in a geometric form felt more connected to systematic searches utilised in bioprospecting. So we just continued on that path and never looked back.”