DesignStudio rebrands Typeform to help it “grow up”

The data start-up’s new identity is inspired by the art of Picasso and Miró, comprising a series of adaptable shapes.

 

DesignStudio has created a new identity for data company Typeform, which is based on a flexible, “living” logo.

The Barcelona-based start-up was founded in 2012, and specialises in building data collection tools such as online forms and surveys.

Typeform commissioned DesignStudio to reimagine its identity to coincide with the launch of a new version of its service, as the start-up transitions into a larger company.

The new identity aims to reflect the fact that the brand is “growing up”, says DesignStudio design director Alex Johns. It comprises a “living logo”, which morphs depending on factors such as whether it is trying to “represent complex data or express emotion”, adds Johns.

The identity also features a series of “flexible”, “organic” shapes that take inspiration from the work of local artists Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró, says Johns.

Apercu has been chosen as the main typeface to allow text to look more “playful”, adds Johns. Layouts are formed around the series of freeform rings, which move and flex as the user interacts with the service.

A core colour palette of black, white and grey is deliberately stripped back, so that a more colourful style of illustration and photography can be incorporated. DesignStudio has also refined Typeform’s tone of voice to be “jargon free”, says the consultancy.

The new identity has now rolled out across all touchpoints.

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Comments
  • Calvin February 16, 2018 at 2:18 pm

    Paula Scher would be proud! Great and flexible system of visual identity. Excellent work DesignStudio!

    Calvin
    99designs

  • Michael Wolff February 18, 2018 at 3:04 pm

    I doubt Paula would be proud although of course I can’t speak for her. But to say that this thin and flacid work was inspired by the glorious work of Picasso and Miro is absurd, delusional and arrogant beyond belief

  • Alexander Lloyd February 21, 2018 at 8:14 am

    The emperor’s new clothes springs to mind. Little style and no substance.

  • John February 22, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    The level of mediocrity is comparable as what you get from an amateur Behance made-up project. Bland mock-ups, stock photography, boring typography (please explain where is the playfulness you mentioned)…

    By the way, Picasso is not a “local” from Barcelona. It is expected more from design media platforms than to cover this type of garbage.

  • Musadiq March 6, 2018 at 11:35 am

    I feel this is the worst form of rebranding. No matter from where you have taken the inspiration, ultimately it’s common users who have to use it not the ones from whom you’ve taken inspiration.

  • Jake March 22, 2018 at 5:23 pm

    As a Typeform user for years, the biggest problem with this rebrand is how little it has to do with clarifying the value of the actual product and its usage.

    If you read the write-up on Typeform’s site about what went on behind the scenes of the rebrand, you’ll discover:

    * What was supposed to take a few months took a year. (Major red flag.)

    * The focus was more on capturing Team Typeform’s values than Product Typeform’s value.

    * It was led by designers rather than client-/user-facing team members.

    And that’s why they’ve ended up with a design that looks like it was made by and for design students rather than businesses.

    In short, it’s terrible and amateurish as heck.

    (And those photos! They say absolutely nothing about the product and are in fact super-misleading.)

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