A brand refresh for the world's most popular OS.

Android.

Turning an open-source logo you don’t own into a global design system.

When Android launched in 2008, as an open-source OS, a bold decision was made to make the logo open source too. This meant developers, partners, and fans could modify the little green robot at will. Twelve years and over 2.5 billion users later, the OS had become a global standard - without global guidelines. We saw the opportunity to take the most iconic part of the Android brand and use that as the base of our new brand ecosystem.

“Android is debuting a new logo that prominently displays its iconic mascot for the first time.”

AdAge

Findings

Brief.

Evolving the Android brand to make it modern, globally inclusive and accessible. All while fully reimagining Android.com as a mobile-first experience.

Strategy.

Give Android's global partners, and the design community, the creative building blocks to express the brand in a unified way all while still embracing the spirit of curiosity and creativity that's at the heart of Android.

Solution.

Turn the most iconic asset, the Android robot, into the entire design system. We built everything from the bold graphic elements to the customized typeface to the user experience from the robot's original shapes. The open-source spirit of the platform also meant we ensured, for the first time, the design system was universally accessible.

Results

Now, for the first time in its history, Android has comprehensive brand guidelines giving global partners the building blocks to express the brand with the same spirit of openness that the original designers intended. The redesign has been positively received by both designers and developers. On the site, the brand’s most important marketing channel, we have seen a 55% increase in site satisfaction

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Turn the most iconic asset into the entire design system.

Campaign Overview

Results.

Most companies defend their trademark from copycats, and million-dollar lawsuits have been filed over the rights to corporate insignia. This one would remain free and the new design system should give global partners the building.

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55%

Site satisfaction improvement.

Across four core pages compared to the site before redesign. Source: Android Site Satisfaction Survey, 2020

Press Coverage

"The head of the robot, on its own and with the legacy of the full-bodied version behind it, works amazingly well as an icon."

"The new color palette gives the brand flexibility to fit more appropriately in many different scenarios"

"The new palette makes Android's branding more accessible and more beautiful at the same time"

"Google Android debuts new logo, ditches dessert-themed names"

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