A blob of ink to the Eraserhead baby – Patreon logo attracts comparisons

On 4 October, Patreon announced it was overhauling its brand with a new wordmark, fresh approaches to colour, photography and typography, and a redesigned app. The centrepiece was the logo, which takes the P from Patreon and pushes into Mr Blobby territory. Patreon teamed with artist and designer David McCleod and Wolff Olins on strategy, Active Theory on digital and motion, and Dinamo on a new typeface and variable wordmark.

“Our new logo does not have an exact canonical form, there isn’t one definitive Patreon logo,” the platform explained in a release. “It is a dynamic object in constant motion that represents the energy of creativity and the ever-evolving nature of culture and art.”

That sounds like a lot of words, but there are some fun ideas at work here. In motion, the logo appears as an abstract 3D shape that morphs depending on its environment. But it also fluctuates in spaces that force static placements. Patreon says it will regularly swap in new versions of its icon on social media, for example. “When our logo does show up in print, we’ll always use a slightly different form, ‘capturing’ it at a different moment in its motion.”

“Many of the principles that guide brand-building today are still rooted in ideas from 20th century retail: have a static logo with an exact shape, one or two key brand colours, and make sure it all stands out on a store shelf or in a print ad,” says the platform. “By designing a fluid brand native to the digital screen, we’ve created new opportunities that just aren’t possible with print: animation, interactivity, contextual adaptation, and colour transformation.”

Since the identity launched, the internet has been stuck on the perceived shapelessness of the P, with Patreon’s logos having progressed further away from a traditional letterform across its past two iterations. Others were quick to point out its resemblance to other shapes, like a liver. Patreon hopped on the bandwagon too, sharing a few of its favourite comparisons.