Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform for creative projects, launched in 2009. Its visual identity has undergone one significant redesign, in November 2017, when the company introduced a new wordmark and logo developed with New York-based design studio Order.
Design and History
Kickstarter’s original wordmark, used from 2009 until 2017, featured rounded letterforms in black and green. During the 2017 rebrand, Order’s team discovered that the old wordmark used the same typeface as Dunkin’ Donuts, which Order’s Hamish Smyth said gave Kickstarter “a bit of a childish look.” The studio felt the brand needed to reflect how crowdfunding had matured since Kickstarter’s early days.[1]
Kickstarter approached Order with the idea for a bulkier “K” mark. From that starting point, Order explored a full “fat” alphabet, evolving the wordmark and K icon to build on the brand’s recognizable rounded letterforms. After completing about 90 percent of the development, Order brought in typographer Jesse Ragan, one half of type foundry XYZ Type, to redraw every character.[1] The new identity was created in partnership between Kickstarter’s in-house design team and Order.[2]
The redesign was described by Order as “a haircut not a makeover.” The new identity dropped the old lime green and black color scheme in favor of a single, darker teal green, with Order noting they hoped it would “keep the playful spirit of the original logo, while feeling a little bit more established and custom made for Kickstarter.”[1] The new lettering was described as inflating the rounded style “as far as legibility allows.”[2]
Kickstarter’s official brand assets page provides downloadable versions of the logo and other brand materials for creators, backers, and press.[3]
Typography and Design
The new wordmark was drawn by typographer Jesse Ragan.[2] Alongside the new logo, the 2017 rebrand introduced two new website typefaces: Cooper Light and Maison Neue.[2] Order chose Cooper Light, a cut of the typeface family best known for Cooper Black, which Hamish Smyth called “a favourite in the 70s and kind of a cult classic.” He explained that the Black cut was too bulky and similar to the new wordmark, while the curves of Cooper Light reflected the curves in the new logo and lent Kickstarter a more editorial feel.[1]
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