Snap Inc is All Yellow

What Rebranding Means for the Future of Snap Inc.

A list of the most influential rebrands wouldn’t be complete without including the social media superstar, Snapchat… or now known as Snap Inc. Why the change? What could it mean for the companies future? How did the design play a role in the rebranding? Let’s take a closer look.

This fresh new name for Evan Spiegel’s company is an incredibly forward thinking move and something we saw Google do as they transitioned to Alphabet. These types of rebrandings are not driven by looks or logos, but by core principles and product offerings. That doesn’t make them any less influential thought. In the case of Snap Inc. it indicates a future that includes much more than just a messaging app.

Instantly we can see the transition in more than just the name of a company, but the tone/voice/philosophy of the company.

“Snap Inc. is a camera company”

Evan Spiegel elaborates on this statement saying, “We believe that reinventing the camera represents our greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate.” Those are some powerful words coming from the man holding the keys to a multi-billion dollar photo messaging app. With the above statement from the company’s CEO, the rebranding to Snap Inc., and the acquisitions of Vurb, Flite, Cimagine Media, Obvious Engineering, and bitmoji’s parent company Bitstrips, the future is very bright for Snap Inc. I would take it one step further and suggest that they are even more than a camera company, they are a visual experience company.

“When we were just getting started it made sense to name our company Snapchat Inc., because Snapchat was our only product! Now that we are developing other products, like Spectacles, we need a name that goes beyond just one product — but doesn’t lose the familiarity and fun of our team and brand.”-Evan Spiegel, CEO Snapchat

Along with a new company name, Snap Inc. launched their first wearable called Spectacles. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 3 months, you’ve definitely seen the photos or headlines about this sleek new product. I don’t know much about the user experience or camera itself, but damn the marketing is slick. The colors pop. The models are gorgeous. The glasses are trendy. It all reminds me of the energy Apple’s original iPod silhouettes personified.

Instead of advertising it’s product, Apple advertised an emotion. It seems like Snap Inc. learned the lesson. When the iPods debuted their marketing focused on good music, dancing, fun and instantly recognizable white earbuds more than the technical aspects of it’s revolutionary MP3 player. Snap made a decision to focus on the unique shape of the glasses. No text, no descriptions, no clothes, just visual impact. That is good branding.

Another amazing design decision that will help this new product gain instant recognition is to use the lens of the glasses as the icon for the product. It is subtle, but genius. It is visual, it is fun, it is quirky, it is the shape of the glasses, and soon it will market itself. The more and more popular these glasses get, the more recognizable the curves of the product will become.

All of this leaves Snap Inc. in strange territory. The company now has two incredibly visual products, but lacks its own visual identity. The ghost is so instantly recognized as being Snapchat and I have no doubt the Spectacles icon will soon be instantly recognized too…but what will the Snap Inc. company look like? This is something I’m sure the company is considering as it continues to roll out new apps, glasses, or in the case of recent augmented reality acquisitions, all-new experiences.

Between all the apps and headlines, what has remained constant? The vivid yellow color. It is worth highlighting that this very well could be the secret sauce Snap Inc. is cooking with. Take a look at their twitter, or their website, or even the favicon at the top of their new site! Could the intention of this tech giant be to completely own a color? For a company as popular and confident as Snap Inc., I wouldn’t put it past them.

When you think of the color yellow what brands come to mind? It’s a good thought experiment to see how uncommon of a brand color yellow is. Especially such a prominent use of the bright unapologetic color.

The McDonald’s arches come to mind. Sure, but almost all of the branding for McDonald’s relies on the color red to compliment the logo. Best Buy or Ikea have yellow logos, but both depend on the blue in their identities more than the yellow. The list goes on and on and it is rare to see a company go so all-in with the color of yellow. The argument could be pushed even further that the unusual color choice helped Snapchat stand out from the crowd when first gaining popularity. In the tech space so eager for attention and so defined by the color blue, Snapchat burst through with an market redefining product, but it also built it’s visual identity on the optimistic, energetic, fresh qualities of a color to help influence and attract users.

Snapchat is a product, Snap Inc. is a company. Sometimes rebranding isn’t just how a company looks, but how it acts. With 5 acquisitions in 2016 it is clear Snapchat isn’t just a disappearing photo app anymore and needed a name to help differentiate the two. Spiegel sums it up best saying, “You can search Snapchat or Spectacles for the fun stuff and leave Snap Inc. for the Wall Street crowd.” With a looming IPO in 2017 will definitely have the attention from the Wall Street crowds.

This example of a rebranding is much more than a visual refresh, it is a very self aware company saying to it’s users we get you and are thinking of you. And that attitude makes us pay attention more than a brand color ever could.

Look & Logo is a project dedicated to the design thinking that fuels creative visual identities, brands, and logos. Follow along on Twitter or Instagram to see the latest looks & logos or follow along on Medium for more in depth discussions on design. If there is work you would like to see featured or reviewed, want to talk design, or just want to say hi, feel free to get in touch.