Nylas is a communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) company that provides APIs for email, calendar, and contacts, enabling developers to build communications features into their applications. The company unveiled its current logo and visual identity on June 1, 2022, alongside a new mission statement, “Turn Communication Into Inspiration.” [1]
Design and History
The 2022 rebrand was developed in collaboration with creative agency Big Drop, with Nylas’s internal brand team including Lauren Weldy, Minh Pham, Joe Jankowski, and Sarah Rudkin. [2] The project took roughly six months from conception to launch. [2]
According to Nylas’s own account of the rebrand, the team wanted a logo that emulated the company’s commitment to “speed, velocity, and new frontiers.” Inspired by space imagery, they settled on a comet as the brand mark. Space imagery had been a significant part of Nylas’s internal culture, and the comet was chosen to merge that internal culture with external brand values. [2] [3]
Big Drop described the new logo as driven by “upward momentum, space, and travel.” [4] The rebrand also involved transitioning the Nylas brand from a “dark mode” aesthetic to a “light mode” one, with white space replacing black backgrounds and a new, vibrant color palette introduced. [3]
The rebrand was motivated by a need to reposition the company as its audience expanded beyond developers to include enterprise leaders. Michele de la Menardiere, who joined Nylas as Head of Brand and Creative Director, noted that the company had “limited brand equity” and needed to distinguish itself in the API market. The previous brand was described as having a “generic look and feel” and lacking a distinct personality. [5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The comet brand mark was selected to represent speed, velocity, and new frontiers, values Nylas wanted to communicate through its identity. [2] The company stated that the new logo reflects its dedication to helping companies and developers “think big and build software that helps the world communicate and connect better.” [1]
The rebrand also introduced a mascot named Nyla, described as an “astro-explorer” and part of the “Nylanaut family.” Nyla was chosen as the mascot after competing against other candidates including narwhals, octopuses, and orcas. [2]
Typography and Design
For the wordmark, Nylas chose a “crisp, stylized typeface” to modernize the logo. [2] The primary color selected was royal blue, chosen to evoke “a sense of trust, calm, loyalty, and confidence.” [2] [3]
Beyond the logo itself, the rebrand included a set of modern, geometric patterns derived from the brand mark, used to tie the visual identity together across applications. [2]
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.
