Red Kraken — Logo for a Fitness App

Red Kraken is a fitness app that needed an identity able to convey energy and power from the moment its icon appears on a smartphone screen.

Project background

Red Kraken is a sports app developed by the same client as Olympe, Thomas Poullain's gym in Reims. The app was designed to symbolise the power, endurance and energy users can achieve through their training. As the Olympe gym grew, the app became a secondary part of Thomas Poullain's business, but Red Kraken's visual identity remains active on social media.

The work

The logo design draws on the kraken, a mythical creature known for its strength and imposing character. The symbol's angular, geometric shape evokes power and rigour, while the colour red symbolises energy, passion and the intensity of athletic effort. Bold typography completes the design, with particular attention paid to legibility at very small sizes — a specific constraint of mobile app icons.

Launching the app with this identity helped attract its first users and strengthen the project's credibility in the competitive market for sports apps.

Why this style

A fitness app has to convince in a split second, on a home screen crowded with other icons: the logo's visual energy becomes a genuine argument for downloading it.

What makes a good mobile app logo?

A sports app icon has to convince in a split second, surrounded by dozens of other icons on a home screen. A strong symbol and a bold colour matter more than a detailed drawing, which would lose all legibility once shrunk to icon size.

For an app tied to physical performance, drawing on powerful imagery (a mythical creature, an animal, a force of nature) helps instantly convey a promise of intensity and self-improvement, far more effectively than an abstract symbol.

This project also led to a wider collaboration with the same client: discover also the Olympe logo design, his gym in Reims.