Kotaku is a video game news and blog website that launched in October 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network.[1] The site’s visual identity has evolved over the years, with its most recognizable mark featuring a distinctive red figure above a lowercase wordmark.
Design and History
The current Kotaku logo, as documented in a 2024 trademark application, consists of a red stylized figure with a jagged top and bottom and three horizontally aligned white and black eyes. Below the figure is the black wording “kotaku” in a lowercase font. The colors red, white, and black are claimed as features of the mark.[2]
Kotaku’s visual identity has undergone several changes since its founding. In March 2023, the site received a new look, with changes to the layout, colors, and how pictures are framed on the page. The redesign also introduced new colors on the navigation bar.[3]
Earlier in the site’s history, Kotaku staff acknowledged the logo “could do with an update” in a 2013 post discussing reader redesign proposals. The same post referenced the site’s “trademark hot pink” color, which the then-new design reportedly had little room for.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The red stylized figure with three eyes that appears above the Kotaku wordmark is the most distinctive element of the brand’s identity. The figure’s jagged top and bottom edges and its three horizontally aligned eyes give it a distinctive, game-like character appropriate for a video game publication.[2] No official explanation of the figure’s intended symbolism has been documented in the available sources.
Typography and Design
The Kotaku wordmark uses a lowercase font, as documented in the trademark filing.[2] The specific typeface has not been officially identified. A 2014 discussion on a graphic design forum explored possible matches for the logo’s letterforms, noting unusual design features in several characters, but no definitive identification was reached.[5]
Brand asset tracking services have cataloged various colors associated with Kotaku’s identity, including an amber tone (#FBC000) and dark grays, though these represent collected brand assets rather than official design specifications.[6]
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