# How the gold Basedash logo works in Unicorn Studio

Tom Johnson · 2025-04-25

[Basedash](https://x.com/tomjohndesign/status/1915873513744863249)

The gold [Basedash](https://www.tomjohn.design/content/basedash) logo shows up when your trial ends [(0:29)](#t=29), and I made it in Unicorn Studio. This was the second time I recorded the video. Before the first take I tried to rebuild it from scratch and couldn't, and I have no idea how I did it the first time [(0:09)](#t=9). It took a long time, too, because I made it for dark mode first and had to redo the whole thing for light mode [(0:58)](#t=58).

![The gold Basedash logo in Unicorn Studio, captioned as I say: “second time I've recorded this video, and like, I tried to recreate this just now, and I, from scratch, I couldn't do it.”](https://nlzkl2bo0qmd3uti.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/talks/clips/gold-logo-unicorn-studio/second-time-KRcVUYkMIEF7CKEDmQIVoY66RJOoQX.mp4 "Clip")

So this is me going through the layers instead. There's a vignette to soften the edges, because when I put these on a page I don't want them to look like they're in a box [(1:11)](#t=71). God rays give it a diffused light, like light coming through fog in a video game, and I gave mine a color [(1:37)](#t=97). Then the dither, which is my jam, at 8×8 like all of ours [(2:02)](#t=122). The light that follows your cursor is wisps, scaled way up and barely moving [(2:24)](#t=144).

![A light following the cursor across the logo, captioned as I say: “light that goes and follows my cursor across the screen, that's actually a wisps. Now let me”](https://nlzkl2bo0qmd3uti.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/talks/clips/gold-logo-unicorn-studio/wisps-GuEXNi79ZplsjvTJASz8KcIbaTebDy.mp4 "Clip")

The gradient map is the part I couldn't recreate [(3:36)](#t=216). The shape came in a pale yellow, and the map gives it the lowlights, highlights and reflections that make it look like gold. Water caustics behind it make the gold look like it's shimmering, a little bit alive [(5:19)](#t=319). And the shape itself is just an SVG: if it's flattened into a single shape, Unicorn turns it into 3D, so you don't need a 3D asset at all [(5:59)](#t=359). I'd done the same thing with the OpenAI logo before [(6:25)](#t=385). I shared the file at the end [(7:07)](#t=427), and [the dithered loading animations](https://www.tomjohn.design/content/dithered-loading-animations) came a week later.

![The gold gradient map on the logo, captioned as I say: “There's a gradient map. Now, this is where things were difficult in the recreation. So this gradient map I made, custom, apparently. So basically”](https://nlzkl2bo0qmd3uti.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/talks/clips/gold-logo-unicorn-studio/gradient-map-unbNEYeMXQl3xRqXG4lZLRuejBOrYJ.mp4 "Clip")

When I posted it on X I wrote:

> I don’t know how I made that gold logo in unicorn studio. Tried to recreate it--failed. So I made a video showing how it works.