Projects by Neil Yarnal

Projects

Systems shipped, in depth.

Product · Brand2023

Oursky

Democratizing astrophotography — product and brand design for a consumer telescope and companion app.

Problem

Astrophotography is gatekept by gear, technique, and software complexity.

Approach

Designed a friendly product surface that hides telescope complexity behind guided capture.

Outcome

A consumer product getting first-timers to usable astro images on night one.

Hero direction — For Everyone, By Anyone.

Problem

Astrophotography sits behind layers of gear, technique, and software that most curious people never get past. Oursky wanted a brand and product surface that invited beginners in without alienating the hobbyist community already pointed at the sky.
Early concepts — tone, texture, and cosmos as a shared place.
Chosen direction — cosmos as the canvas, type as the guide.

Approach

We anchored the system around a single idea: democratize the sky. From there, every decision — wordmark, palette, voice, product UI — had to read as both grounded and future-forward. We built a flexible identity that could flex from a phone-in-hand consumer moment to a deep community feed.
Wordmark construction — geometry, grid, and the circular O.
Letterform anatomy — rounded spine, grounded apex, hard geometry.
Logo construction — grounded legs & arms.
Color-on-color logo applications.
Final mark — the arc as orbit, sitting quietly above the type.

Build notes

The system is built from four primary spectrums (yellow, blue, purple, red) layered against black and white, with secondary stellar hues that map to product moments. Typography pairs Obviously with Jakarta Sans for utility, and IBM Plex Mono / Playfair Display for longer-form and editorial voice. Iconography stays grounded — geometric, slightly mechanical, never decorative.
OurSky spectrums — the working palette.
Principles: Cluster Driven, Standard Setting, Ardent & Guiding, Grounded & Regal.
Brand attributes — future-forward, nested utility, colorful language.

Product

The product surface translates the brand into something a first-time user can actually hold. The Alpha companion app keeps the cosmos legible at a glance — find your place, explore, and connect with the community of fellow observers.
For Everyone, By Anyone — design language across app surfaces.
Iconography & key art system.
Alpha companion app — mobile and web.
Marketing site — responsive from desktop to handheld.
Homepage — The cosmos. For everyone. By anyone.
Community surface — automate, integrate, unlock worlds.

Outcome

A consumer product and brand system that gets first-timers to a usable astro image on night one, while giving the existing community a surface worth posting into. The system has continued to extend across product launches, community programs, and partner integrations.