A lot has been said about the Airbnb redesign. I’ve read numerous articles, blogs and pithy tweets on the subject. I’ve also seen plenty of iterations of the logo in the digital sphere.
The mark itself is designed so that everyone can draw it and is based on symbols for people, places, love and the letter A (not unlike an episode of Sesame Street). It also has two versions – the official ‘Belo’ mark and a customisable ‘Community’ version.
Airbnb would like you to augment the latter with pattern and colour and post it on social media, but in reality people prefer to turn it into boobs or any other of the naturally comedic body parts (incase you haven’t seen any of these already, you can take a look here
Love it or loathe it, we’ve all connected with it in some way. Whether you’re an interested party reading the design press or a citizen of the world, it seems to have struck a chord. Since the launch of the new branding in 2014, Airbnb’s annual guests have increased from 14m to 24m in 2015 and a predicted 51m in 2018, connecting more people with more places more often.
Regardless of whether you appreciate the story behind the mark, or simply see it as a shape, it’s a simple symbol of purpose executed in a way that prompts interaction. The brand idea centres on belonging, so whether we’re interacting with the mark as intended, or using it in more puerile (yet entertaining) ways, we are still using it as a means of connection and a way to belong. As part of the launch of the new identity, Airbnb have said ‘Behind every symbol is a story. Share yours. Make your symbol bring Airbnb to life.’ And they’re quite right. Airbnb has achieved a truly charismatic identity by allowing their users to bring it to life, imbuing the brand symbol with their own meaning – whether that’s ‘on message’ or not.
By Elissa O'Brien, Senior Brand Strategist, jkr London.
