Observe Inc
The new face of AI observability
Observe built AI into the heart of its product. It needed a brand evolution to introduce it.
As Observe launched AI powered observability, with agents that investigate issues so engineers don’t have to, the brand needed to make that new capability feel approachable and trustworthy. Observe already had something rare in enterprise software. A character people remembered. We kept the logo they had built equity in and reinvented O11y as the face of Observe’s AI, refreshing the typography and color palette and creating a new illustration style for the product. We then carried the evolved brand across marketing, campaigns and a new website built around the launch.
Reinventing O11y
When kicking off this project with Observe, our first order of business was analyzing the current state of their brand mascot, O11y, and exploring potential ways to enhance his impact. As a strong differentiator having a character in their space, O11y already set them apart from competitors. With this in mind, we saw an opportunity to emphasize his distinctiveness even further by refining his expressions and overall form. This evolution seamlessly aligned with a modernized look for the website and overall brand, making O11y even more engaging and emotionally expressive.
Expressions of O11y
Inquisitive, cheeky and always paying attention, O11y needed a personality as big as his job. We built a library of expressions for every moment, from thinking through a problem to celebrating a fix, so Observe could use him across the product, website, marketing and even merch.
Digital brand evolution
The evolved system pairs a refined type and color palette with O11y at its center. Even the headlines make room for him, giving Observe a visual language no competitor could borrow.
O11y in the wild
O11y doesn’t just appear in the brand, he becomes part of the language. Every headline puts him in place of an O, with his expression doing half the storytelling. It’s a simple system that scales from social to the train platform without ever needing explanation.
Product UI visuals
We extended the brand into the product itself, designing a data visualization style that brings the new palette into charts, graphs and dashboards. Error counts, CPU usage and service health all speak the same visual language as O11y and the brand around him.
Digital experience
The website is where every piece of the new brand came together. O11y acts as a guide throughout the site, greeting visitors on the homepage and appearing at key moments to make a complex product feel approachable. The updated typography, color palette and product illustration style give Observe a look that stands apart in a category full of dashboards and dark mode. We designed and built the site end to end, so the character, motion and details made it to launch exactly as intended.
Acquisition
In early 2026, Snowflake announced its acquisition of Observe, a deal reported at around $1B. We’re proud to have helped shape the brand along the way.
Midnight Sea Team
- Executive Creative Director
- Chad Tafolla
- Strategy Director
- Heather Tafolla
- Creative Director
- Steve McGeorge
- Design Director
- Louis Ansa
- Designer
- Kurt Green
- Illustration & Motion
- Pat Grivet
- Frontend Development
- Jacob Fisher
