Unus Annus Logo

Unus Annus Logo PNG

The Unus Annus logo takes the user to an ancient magical world. The emblem indicates the transfer of unique information from channel owners to users. The signs hint at a time limit. The entire body of knowledge is placed within a certain time frame.

Meaning and History

The project originated as a concept about burnout. The two founders had previously been involved in gaming videos and literally over-saturated in them, exhausted professionally. They wanted to find something more creative that would shake up them and the users, reminding them of the inevitability of the end of any endeavor. So they decided to form a creative alliance called Unus Annus, with Ethan as Unus, Mark as Annus.

The day before the channel’s launch, they changed the photos on their profiles in social networks to the same type of pictures: the first one to black, the second one to white. The two of them showed an explanatory video, This Will End in One Year. They announced in identical monotone voices that their collaboration would be released on YouTube shortly. In doing so, each of the hosts wore a suit that matched their color.

The project’s aim was an experiment, an attempt to combine the Internet and profound philosophical categories, to show that not everything is eternal and that it is necessary to remember death at every moment. Video clips with emotions, personal experiences, and daily self-expression were used as basic content. With them, the hosts wanted to demonstrate that, in fact, the digital space is as fragile and impermanent as real life, that what is lost is never returned and that by pushing a button, users control the destinies of real people. Hence the unusual name of the channel: Unus Annus translates from Latin as “one year.” The video began with a slow build-up of distorted voices saying the project’s name.

In fact, it turned out to be a full-fledged program with conceptual content, despite some interruption due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ethan and Mark used two opposing color spectra to emphasize the atmosphere of philosophical overtones and to show how important unique fleeting moments are for humans. They embodied them in everything – the images, the clothing, the logo, and the background image.

The creators chose an hourglass superimposed over a black screen for the visual identity. They counted down the time left to remind us: nothing is forever, and neither is the channel, which will close after the allotted period. A fitting slogan was “memento mori. The project had such a strong influence on its creators that they began to associate themselves with the “murdered” characters, dividing the world into two halves: black and white.

Since the theme of Unus Annus centered around radically opposing concepts, the logo was appropriate. The presenters focused on two different colors – black and white. And to emphasize the original idea of the YouTube channel, they used the image of an hourglass. Inside each closed cavity, a skull was depicted. The upper one flowed with thin streams of sand into the lower one, continuing the cycle. The division into two parts of the whole was seen in almost every detail: in the number of supporting legs on the edges of the hourglass, in the carved decoration (two on each side), and in the skulls.

Font and Colors

The emblem was made in small black strokes on a white surface. They were single or merged to emphasize shadows, gloom, and depth. At the same time, the image was highlighted with a bold outline so as not to blend in with the uniform background on which the clock was located.

The Unus Annus logo lacked any verbal information, as the main focus was on visual images. The official palette corresponded to the original idea of the channel, so it consisted of a combination of black and white.

Unus Annus color codes