PLUSMINUS Studio’s unapologetic identity refresh for CHEEX signals a new standard for porn sites

“Essentially, we were brought in to help give CHEEX a brand ‘clean-up,’” Designer Tomas Clarkson tells us, discussing how Berlin-based creative studio PLUSMINUS first became involved with the porn website CHEEX. “They didn’t mention changing the branding, the logo the fonts etc,” he continues, only wanting things to make more sense, from their convoluted colour choice to forgotten brand elements. “We eventually pitched them the idea for a brand refresh,” Clarkson recalls, with the client’s only request being to keep and refine the existing colour palette. “We fine-tuned the colourway, picking a similar but more suitable, vibrant red,” he expands, moving away from the muted hues from the previous identity and signalling the start of CHEEX’s punchy, vibrant and unapologetic shift in attitude. 

Established to ultimately challenge what has become the standard for porn sites, CHEEX sought to be considerate, shameless and loud in a social space so clouded in guilt, expectation and bad web design – refreshingly breaching the subject ethically and progressively, with a prominent emphasis on sex education, pleasure and open-mindedness. Tackling its identity and website design with a similar tone, the subsequent brand is forward-thinking, utilitarian and, most importantly, fun – with the studio opting for a charming type combination of Dinamo’s ABC Ginto, OH no Type Co’s Obviously and The Ivy Foundry’s Ivypresto, alongside an illustrative peach icon, designed in-house.

“Ginto was the loud, cheeky font that we wanted to use for the branding,” Clarkson recalls, noting the decision-making behind their type choices, “and it fits perfectly to what we wanted,” looking to cost-effectively match the chunky sans serifs tone for the supporting web fonts. “Obviously has a similar cheekiness to Ginto, and we felt it was a good substitution for the rest of the branding,” he continues, concluding, “it is loud and bold, but has a cheekiness to it that Ginto also has,” finding a more pragmatic, contrasting pairing through Ivypresto’s serifed, softer letterforms. 

PLUSMINUS

CHEEX