Ecosia is a Berlin-based search engine that uses its advertising profits to fund tree-planting projects around the world. Founded in 2009 by Christian Kroll, the company underwent its first major visual identity refresh in June 2022, developed by the international design studio Koto.[1][2]
Design and History
Ecosia’s 2022 rebrand was its first major branding refresh since the company launched in 2009.[1] The redesign was led by Koto, a design studio with offices in London, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles.[2] The new identity encompassed a new logo, design system, website, browser applications and search results.[3]
According to German design publication Page, the redesign was the first since 2009 and shed the “childlike” quality of the original design in favor of a more expressive typography and playful green logo.[2] Design Tagebuch noted that the previous logo had last been redesigned in 2013, and that the 2022 update removed the globe icon and set the name in a different typeface, with the logo now appearing in a single green color.[4]
Koto’s creative direction for the project was guided by two interlinking ideas: “Power the regeneration” and “Never Neutral.”[5] The studio deliberately avoided straight lines in its illustrations, favoring sloping, smooth forms that mirror a natural look and feel.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The new Ecosia logo was redesigned as a custom wordmark using organic letterforms intended to connect the brand to the natural environment.[6] The brand identity celebrates the biodiversity of Ecosia’s planting projects through 12 tree icons modeled on native species, displayed across its interfaces to spotlight the location of its projects.[1][6]
Koto looked to the music scene of the 1960s and 1970s as a stylistic reference for the new logo, aiming to evoke themes of “positive action and changing the world” and to lend the name more gravitas and personality.[5]
Typography and Design
For the wordmark and display typography, Koto used Founders Grotesk, a typeface whose licensing costs were waived by the New Zealand foundry Klim.co.nz specifically for Ecosia’s use.[5] For body copy, the team chose a Google font to keep page loading times fast across Ecosia’s high volume of page views.[5]
Color selection for the new identity needed to work in both light mode and dark mode to remain accessible, a consideration driven by Ecosia’s planned dark mode feature.[5] The illustrations for the rebrand were produced in collaboration with British illustrator Adrian Johnson.[5]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
