Dribbble Gets A New Logo Done In-House

Dribbble, the online community and marketplace for creatives, unveiled a rebrand this week, including a brand new logo.

Founded in 2009, Dribbble rapidly grew into the premier destination for designers to share and discuss their work.

The old logo featured a loopy script lowercase wordmark that many designers found charming.

The new logo abandons the casual, free-flowing script for a more upright stylized wordmark.

Dribbble Logo Before & After

While the old logo was not objectively great, it was unique and highly recognizable among all designers and creatives.

However, Dribbble felt it was time for an evolution.

As the company expands its services into talent recruitment and shifts focus to serving designers professionally (just as Behance does), it wanted a more mature visual identity.

However, in my opinion, the connections between letters feel forced, lacking the organic feel from the old logo.

Dribbble Logo Animation

Although technically not a true script, it evokes a vintage, hand-drawn aesthetic.

We also have a capital "D" which adds a more mature touch and a sense of sophistication.

The sharp, angular bowl contrasts the softer curves of the other letters.

The ascenders of the "b"s, however, are a point of attention because they give a striking resemblance of "666".

This creates an awkward appearance, as if the logo spells out "Dri666ble."

Dribbble Gradient Background

Some see the new identity as bland and amateurish compared to the old logo's scrappy charm.

I think that the loss of Dribbble's iconic triple-"b" ligatures is disappointing.

This is because the oversized, loopy ascenders became iconic over the years.

Choosing readability over personality is an understandable move, but also a regrettable sacrifice in this case.

I think that a revision of the old logo could potentially make for a better solution.

Nonetheless, the rebrand has some positives as the website redesign is clean and modern.

Dribbble Website Design

While the execution leaves room for improvement, Dribbble's rebrand signals an intentional shift for the company.

The old logo spoke to Dribbble's beginnings as a community for sharing works-in-progress and creative passion projects.

The new logo aims to represent Dribbble as a professional platform and talent marketplace.

This dichotomy represents the biggest challenge of the rebrand.

Dribbble must appeal to multiple audiences with divergent needs.

On one hand we have casual creators that cherish it as a relaxed space for testing ideas without pressure.

On the other hand we have aspiring professionals who see it as a platform to get hired by some of the leading brands.

Here's a video that shows off more of the visual language.

Dribbble Visual Identity

In any case, the rebrand elicits mixed reactions from the design community—some designers love it, some hate it.

Overall, while the new logo itself has some room for improvement, I think that it's a good indicator of Dribbble's new future.

Only time will tell if Dribbble's rebrand sets them up for future success or falls flat.

What do you think about the Dribbble's new logo?—Shoot me an email.

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