Cloudflare is an internet security and performance company founded in 2009 by Matthew Prince, Lee Holloway, and Michelle Zatlyn. Its visual identity centers on a stylized cloud logomark paired with a custom wordmark, both governed by detailed brand guidelines published by the company.
Design and History
The original Cloudflare logo was designed by Lindon Leader, the identity designer best known for the FedEx logotype. Prince had met Leader years before founding Cloudflare and contacted him to create the logo on a limited startup budget. Leader produced the design that Cloudflare adopted, and the company has publicly documented the rejected alternatives, including blue-cloud versions that advisors initially preferred over the orange mark. Leader also created a custom semi-futuristic typeface for the wordmark, redrawing the “E” after Prince commented that the original letterform reminded him of the Oracle logo. [1] [2]
In September 2016, on the company’s sixth anniversary, Cloudflare launched a redesigned logo and updated typography. The company announced the change on its blog, explaining that the old logo’s complexity made it difficult to reproduce on merchandise and signage. The redesign kept the “Cloudflare orange and yellow” palette, retained a flare in the center of the mark to represent how the network responds to things in real-time, and preserved the essential cloud shapes from the previous logo. The update also dropped the capital “F” in the middle of the name, changing “CloudFlare” to “Cloudflare,” which the company said had always been a single word name. [3]
The current logo, in use since September 2016, is described in Cloudflare’s trademark registration as “a stylized cloud with the left 3/4 of the cloud in orange and the right 1/4 in light orange, with a stylized white flare separating the two colors.” The registration lists the mark’s colors as orange, light orange, and white. [4]
Meaning and Symbolism
Cloudflare’s official brand guidelines describe the logo as “the most recognizable expression of our brand” and state that it “plays a critical role in helping people identify and relate to Cloudflare.” [5] The company’s own explanation of the 2016 redesign identifies the central flare element as representing “how our network responds to things in real-time in such a powerful way.” [3]
The name itself combines “cloud” with “flare.” Prince has written that a friend suggested the name Cloudflare, which was chosen after other candidates such as FireCloud and CloudWall were rejected. [2]
Typography and Design
Cloudflare’s brand guidelines specify that the logo is “comprised of the cloud icon and the Cloudflare logotype” and that the logotype “contains custom letterforms that are unique assets for Cloudflare.” [6] The original custom typeface was created by Lindon Leader specifically for the logo. [1]
The official color specifications for the logo are published in Cloudflare’s brand guidelines. The logotype is black (Hex #000000). The logomark uses two orange tones: Tangerine (Hex #F6821F) on the left and Mango (Hex #FBAD41) on the right. [5] The brand guidelines describe Tangerine as the lead orange color and state that the orange primary colors are “synonymous with our brand.” [7]
The guidelines also document two approved logo orientations: a stacked version with the cloud logomark vertically above the logotype, right-aligned to the edge of the “E,” and a horizontal version for limited space. Clear space around the logo must be no less than 100% of the height of the logomark. [5]
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