Turnitin is a global education technology company founded in 1998 by four University of California students who developed a peer-review application and subsequently identified text similarities across student submissions, leading to the creation of the company’s similarity checking service.[1] The company is headquartered in Oakland, California, and serves more than 16,000 institutions across over 185 countries.[2]
Design and History
In January 2021, Turnitin underwent a brand transformation, introducing an updated color palette and a refreshed logo. The company described the new identity as “a nod to our legacy and a representation of our evolving journey.”[1] The rebrand accompanied an expansion of the company’s purpose, moving from a focus on integrity in writing to empowering students to do their best, original work across all subjects and assessment types.[1]
The brand identity was developed with the design agency MetaDesign, which accompanied Turnitin through a nearly year-long process of developing a strategic brand platform and brand purpose, as well as translating the strategic direction into a new visual brand identity.[3] MetaDesign stated that the new design, gradually rolled out globally since January 2021, differentiates Turnitin and positions the company as a category leader.[3]
Turnitin’s official design system documentation confirms that the current logo consists of a wordmark and a separate logomark. The wordmark should always appear in “brand-petrol-900” on lighter backgrounds, while the logomark should always be in “brand-light-blue-900” color.[4] The design system also provides usage guidelines for compact logomarks, which are used when additional information must live alongside the logo or when environmental restrictions require a container, such as mobile app icons.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
Turnitin’s Japanese press release for the 2021 brand transformation noted that the refreshed color palette and logo express respect for the legacy the company has built, as well as its continuing journey of evolution.[6] The company’s CEO, Chris Caren, similarly described the updated identity as representing the company’s evolving journey while honoring its history.[1]
Prior to the 2021 rebrand, Turnitin’s logo featured a stylized arrow and sheet of paper, as documented in trademark registration records describing the mark as “TURNITIN Logo [stylized arrow/sheet of paper].”[7] The earlier mark was also described in university documentation as “a paper with a red arrow circling around it.”[8]
Typography and Design
Turnitin’s official design system specifies that the logo is a component used inside the Header and Footer components of its products, with options to customize language and appearance in addition to theme.[4] The system provides three sizes for use within company products: medium, large, and extra large, with the medium option preferred for dense interfaces and the extra large option reserved for rare use cases such as boot screens.[4]
The design system also establishes clearance rules, requiring that logos be surrounded by clear space free of type, graphics, and other elements, with minimum margins equal to half the cap height of the logo wordmark.[4] Product names and offerings are downscaled to word-only inside product experiences, with exceptions for non-core experiences such as iThenticate and Gradescope.[4]
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