Flipboard is a social news aggregation platform founded in 2010 and based in Palo Alto, California. Its visual identity has centered on a red square “window” symbol since the company’s launch, a concept tied to the brand’s mission of providing a view into stories from around the world. The mark was refreshed in April 2018 as part of a broader rebranding effort.
Design and History
Since its founding, Flipboard has used a red rectangular “window” graphic as its logo, symbolizing a view through which users discover stories from around the world. The original 2010 logo was a red square with transparent window panes at its center, forming a pixelated letter “F.” The company’s manifesto, “great stories move the world forward,” informed this window concept from the beginning. [1]
On April 23, 2018, Flipboard announced a brand refresh and introduced a new logo. The redesign removed the varying transparency levels of the old pixelated “F” blocks, creating a fully open window shape. This change addressed practical limitations: the old logo’s inconsistent transparency made it difficult to reproduce uniformly across different media, particularly in white or monochrome versions. The new mark was designed to work more effectively across a wider range of applications and contexts. [2]
Flipboard partnered with Moniker, a San Francisco-based design studio, to develop the new visual identity. The 2010 logo was refreshed as an F-shaped fully open window, and the red color was updated to a brighter tone. [1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The red square in Flipboard’s logo represents a window, conveying the idea of looking through to discover stories from around the world. The letter “F” is formed within this window shape, combining the brand’s initial with its core metaphor. [2] The company has consistently centered its brand around this “window” that leads to great stories, reflecting its original mission and manifesto. [1]
The red color has been described as a signature element of the brand, associated with energy, vitality and joy. [3]
Typography and Design
As part of the 2018 rebrand, Flipboard replaced its signature typeface, Helvetica Neue, with a custom font called Fakt Flipboard condensed. The new wordmark uses uppercase lettering, which was noted as offering better readability than the previous lowercase Helvetica treatment. [1] The custom typeface was developed specifically for the new brand identity. [2]
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