The Trace
The foundation of our visual identity and its usage.
The Trace
The Trace is the meaningful idea at the heart of our identity.
It’s purposefully rooted in our name and shows up in several different ways throughout our design system. It represents our technology and our role in our customers’ world. It can be subtle, expressive, or foundational. It shows Darktrace learning, protecting, adapting, and securing the world’s work.
The Trace is more than a graphic device.
It’s a scalable design concept that manifests in three different ways throughout our identity: functional, technical, and gestural. In each case, the linear element takes on a different role and character.
Trace Parts
The Trace in its gestural form is comprised of 3 parts. The trace (body), the glow, and the pixel.
Trace
The trace is our AI at work, learning, detecting, protecting. It begins as a linear horizon - a representation of our commitment to Defend Beyond - and can expand to multiple lines, working together to form shapes, evoke AI behavior, and communicate abstract concepts.
Glow
The glow is Darktrace bringing light in the dark. It can work as part of the trace, as a source of light and color in photography and backgrounds, and as a highlight on illustration. It communicates ideas like bringing visibility to customer data, finding anomalies, and continuous learning.
Pixel
The pixel represents data. Trace illustrations are led by a pixel, but only as they form or when we need to create visual attention and balance in composition. The pixel is also used throughout our system to anchor content or draw attention.
Access Trace source files and resources
Trace usage
Behaviors, treatments, variations and construction
Functional
The Trace can be functional, used as horizontal/vertical line rules in our layouts to bring order, simplicity, and efficiency to our design system.
Technical
The Trace can be technical, evoking a sense of innovation and sophistication as a precise, linear style in illustrations, icons, and infographics.
Gestural
The primary use of The Trace is gestural, embodying the characteristics of our AI technology as linear illustrations, patterns, and adornments to photography and video.
Trace Behaviors
Below, you can find examples of how the trace physically manifests as a representation of our business pillars, applicable to photography, video, layouts, diagrams, infographics, and other visual representations.
*Cube is a representative placeholder for objects in space or in photography, for example, a 3D object, a building, a person, etc.
Learning
The learning behavior shows The Trace repeating a pattern or consistent geometric shape, indicative of Darktrace AI continuously learning from customer data.
Detecting
The detecting behavior shows The Trace moving around the edges or shape of an object in space, indicative of Darktrace AI looking for and finding anomalies in a customer environment.
Adapting
The adapting behavior shows The Trace at its most fluid, moving through an environment with a flowing, multi-line motion indicative of Darktrace AI adapting to and evolving as customer data changes.
Protecting
The protecting behavior shows The Trace containing shapes, elements of photography, or spatial constricts like a network of connections, indicative of Darktrace AI protecting data and securing the way the world works.
Trace Behaviors in context
Learning
The learning behavior shows The Trace repeating a pattern or consistent geometric shape, indicative of Darktrace AI continuously learning from customer data.
Detecting
The detecting behavior shows The Trace moving around the edges or shape of an object in space, indicative of Darktrace AI looking for and finding anomalies in a customer environment.
Adapting
The adapting behavior shows The Trace at its most fluid, moving through an environment with a flowing, multi-line motion indicative of Darktrace AI adapting to and evolving as customer data changes.
Protecting
The protecting behavior shows The Trace containing shapes, elements of photography, or spatial constricts like a network of connections, indicative of Darktrace AI protecting data and securing the way the world works.
Building the trace
A guide on how to build the trace element across our ecosystem in Figma.
01
Draw a path. The Trace could be a straight line or include turns at angles of 90 and 45 degrees.
02
As a base stroke size for a frame of 1920px by 1080px, it should be 2pts. Increase the stroke point size accordingly to the frame.
03
Change the stroke color of the line to the Trace gradient, using our color palette values.
04
Duplicate the stroke layer and stack them. Increase the point size of the bottom stroke by 3+ points, then apply a subtle Layer Blur effect.
05
Create a new layer as a mask above the Trace to add the glow.
06
Apply radial gradient from mask edge inwards for glow, using palette colors.
07
Repeat the previous step on the opposite side of the Trace, experimenting with various color values.
08
Ensure uniform and appealing Glow and Trace. Include Pixel at the Trace's end. Pixel should be .75pts more than the Trace point size.
