When we launched Boom Brief #4, we knew we were onto something deliciously different. After branding design schools and coastal festivals, we challenged our community to create the visual identity for The Abyss, a fictional roller coaster that plunges riders into terror, euphoria, and everything that lurks between the two.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. With Halloween looming, the #cbbriefabyss hashtag became a playground for designers ready to explore the visual language of fear. But what emerged wasn’t just a collection of horror clichés and gothic typefaces. Instead, we witnessed three remarkably distinct interpretations that proved once again why fictional briefs spark such creative magic.

Standout approaches

Hafiya Moulana, a brand designer born in Sri Lanka, cut her teeth in Scotland and is now based in London, delivered a concept that was genuinely moving. Rather than leaning into straightforward horror, she built her entire identity around a profound human truth: we cry when we’re terrified and when we’re overjoyed. Tears became her visual anchor, capturing that beautiful, vulnerable moment when fear and joy collide at 80 miles per hour.

Her approach centres on two quirky mascots that feel simultaneously unsettling and endearing. The primary logo features a four-legged, four-eyed creature frozen mid-sprint, embodying pure kinetic energy, while her second mascot—a rabbit with elongated ears and hollow eyes and mouth—really captures the imagination. Inspired by folklore surrounding the “rabbit on the moon,” this character connects nighttime, emotion, and quiet wonder into a single striking visual. The moon reference ties everything back to tears and reflection, creating layers of meaning that reward closer inspection.

Visually, Hafiya worked with liquid, flowing shapes that echo the rise and fall of a rollercoaster’s track, whilst her colour palette (orange, brown, blue, green, yellow) creates dynamic warmth punctuated by unexpected contrast. She incorporated halftones and glowing, ghost-like elements to add texture and depth, making the entire identity feel like it’s perpetually in motion. Her typography choice of bold letterforms with heavy shadows gives the design weight and dimension, grounding the quirky mascots in strong, graphic shapes.

For Hafiya, who typically designs for F&B and beauty brands, this brief represented a genuine departure. “I loved this one because it pushed me out of my usual comfort zone,” she explains. “I enjoy connecting dots and crafting stories through design, and this project let me build something that felt both strange and scalable—a visual world that moves, feels, and tells a story.”

Psychological thriller

Sunnie (Geng Min), founder of Cheeky Noot Studio and a pre-service teacher passionate about design education, took a different route: one grounded in psychological inquiry rather than visual horror. Before touching her design software, she dove into journal articles and psychology papers exploring why humans voluntarily seek fear as entertainment. This research-driven approach led her to focus on the fascinating space between danger and control; that peculiar moment when your heart races but you know you’re safe.

Her concept deliberately sidesteps Halloween clichés to explore fear as something deeply human and ultimately rewarding. The visual language reflects this psychological approach through an intentionally offbeat palette: neon green (#92f757), hot pink (#f55b8f), cool grey (#cccccc), and deep maroon (#56282b). These colours feel bright but unsettling, playful yet strange, mirroring the inner tension between fear and excitement.

Sunnie also wove in subtle inspiration from how female ghosts appear in folklore, not merely as figures of terror but as symbols of suppressed rage and injustice, voices refusing silence. This concept manifests in her inclusion of “celebrity guests” such as Jennie, Billie Eilish, and Charli XC, strong female artists who embody agency and emotional intensity. “They fit perfectly into this idea of reclaiming fear and power at once,” she notes.

For typography, she selected Wobbly by xJoseee, a typeface that mirrors the physical sensation after exiting a rollercoaster; legs unsteady, body buzzing, but grinning because you survived. “It’s not trying to scare you,” Sunnie explains, “it’s trying to mirror you.” That psychological approach extends throughout the entire identity, positioning The Abyss less as a horror attraction and more as a psychological experiment disguised as entertainment. For Sunnie, who doesn’t naturally gravitate toward grunge or horror design, this brief became a playground for experimentation. “It gave me a reason to get uncomfortable and see how far I could push a visual idea beyond the obvious.”

3D territory

Kate Davydov from Davka.design took the brief into surreal, three-dimensional territory. Working primarily in Cinema 4D and experimenting with AI tools, she crafted an identity that genuinely feels alive; a world that bends in on itself.

Soft pastels and disturbing mint tones clash with deep shadows, creating visual tension that never quite resolves. The shapes throughout her identity are bold and graphic but slightly surreal, as though reality itself is warping around the viewer. It’s inviting but not comfortable; exactly the emotional space a ride called The Abyss should occupy.

Kate’s typographic approach is particularly ingenious. She built the signage in Illustrator using 3D Inflate, basing it on Marison Sans Round, to create letterforms that appear rubbery and inflated, like a cheerful logo that took a weird, unsettling turn. “It adds to that sense of playful unease,” she says. The effect is a little like stumbling across playground equipment that’s been subtly corrupted, recognisable but wrong in ways you can’t quite articulate.

For Kate, The Abyss represents the collision of opposites—childhood and fear, comfort and terror. “It’s like a theme park ride that doesn’t exist yet,” she reflects, “a bit nostalgic, a bit spooky, and a lot of fun.” Her three-dimensional explorations in Cinema 4D, combined with AI-generated visuals, create an immersive world that feels tangible despite its impossibility.

Finally, graphic designer and strategist Chavi has delivered a concept that brings texture and tangibility to the terror. What sets her work apart is how she positioned the rollercoaster structure itself as an extension of the brand mascot: a ghost whose gaping mouth literally becomes The Abyss that riders plunge into. This physical manifestation of the identity is brilliantly conceived.

Her colour palette complements deep black with carefully chosen accent tones that enhance rather than diminish the creepy atmosphere. The textures throughout her work—rough, unsettling surfaces that suggest decay and otherworldliness—add a tactile dimension that makes the horror feel more immediate and real.

How to get involved

What strikes us most about these three approaches is how dramatically different they are despite responding to the same brief. Hafiya built a brand around emotional duality and folklore. Sunnie created a psychological experiment disguised as entertainment. Kate constructed a surreal, three-dimensional nightmare playground. Each designer found their own darkness, their own interpretation of what makes fear compelling.

This is precisely why fictional briefs remain such powerful creative exercises. Without real-world constraints or client expectations, designers can push boundaries, take risks, and explore visual territories they might never otherwise encounter. When you’re typically designing for the same kinds of clients, these monthly challenges offer space to experiment, fail, play, and ultimately create something that surprises even yourself.

Missed The Abyss? Don’t worry: Boom Brief #5 is just around the corner, and we’re already excited to see where our community takes it. Head over to our Instagram @creativeboom to stay updated on the next challenge.

No pressure, no client revisions, no stakeholder feedback loops—just you, a prompt, and the freedom to create something darkly brilliant that didn’t exist before. We can’t wait to see what you dream up next.