“A starting point for special.” That was the strapline that design agency Sylvain started with in updating Etsy’s identity. The goal was to show that the online marketplace was much more than a collection of classified ads: instead, it is a place that celebrates creativity, enables the delight of discovery, and maybe most important, develops human connections.
The design team began with Etsy’s most identifiable shape: its orange square. From the Sylvain website: “It’s as if the logo were a button you could press to be right there with [creators]. Inside it sits a bespoke wordmark, generous in its serif curves and playful proportions of each letterform…. That square then served as the base for imaging an entirely new […] glyph set, graphic and photo silhouettes, an extended color palette supporting the iconic orange, and motion behaviors.”
The updated wordmark now has a curvier, more friendly feel. A greatly expanded color palette acknowledges the amazing breadth and depth of products available on Etsy. Finally, the designers grew the original orange Etsy square into an entire suite of simple shapes that can be used as photo and text frames.
