Mailchimp, one of the most popular email marketing platforms for small businesses, has just released a new look for the Mailchimp brand. If you’re familiar with the old branding, the update may seem like a bit of a shock. Everything from the logotype, to the bold, bright colors and use of artistic illustrations feels like a big departure from the fun, colorful, cartoonish illustrations that were used in the past.
Before and After
Before the rebrand, Mailchimp’s logo consisted of the full-color “Freddie” icon and a script logotype (expertly updated by Jessica Hische). And to be honest, it was a good logo. It was fun, friendly, and different from everything else out there. There was, however, a bit of a hierarchy issue between the icon and logotype. For this reason, the two were hardly used together.
The new Mailchimp logo solves a lot of these issues, first starting with the logotype. The most outstanding difference is the jump from a script lettering to a bold, sans serif approach. The contrast in strokes and subtle “notches” in the tops of the letters of the chunky type seem to give the brand a fun and quirky personality. Another difference to note is the elimination of the Camel Case letters (throughout the entire brand, not just the logo) with a set of letters that are more streamlined in height. A simplified, one-color version of Freddie is now a permanent part of the logo, which is perfectly balanced with the heavy logotype.
Everything about the new logo is legible, scalable, universal, yet a breath of fresh air from the same changes we’ve seen over and over again in rebrands from the past few years. (I’m looking at you, Taco Bell, Google, and Green Mountain.)
Beyond the Logo
The additional visual identity elements, including color, illustration and typeface, are bold choices when compared to the previous branding, however there is something about the combination of everything together that works so nicely.
Mailchimp has chosen a very bold and vibrant yellow as the main part of their new brand. Using just one main pop of color throughout all of their marketing materials is a smart choice. It gives Mailchimp the opportunity to establish brand recognition, similar to the Target red, T-mobile pink, and Tiffany’s robin egg blue. It’s incredibly eye-catching, but never too overpowering when paired with the unique black and white illustrations and serif typography.
Something New and Weird
Choosing such an artistic ink/watercolor look for the brand’s illustrations is another bold choice considering the brand has evolved from a style that relied heavily on flat-color cartoonish illustrations. At first glance, they reminded me slightly of Dropbox’s rebranded illustrations (*Note: Both were projects by the brand consultancy Collins), however the illustrations used in Mailchimp’s branding feel a bit more conceptual and cohesive with the entire brand. They are creative and weird and different. But when they are seen in context of the entire brand, they work together nicely. There is not one element that competes for attention more than another.
Although the Mailchimp visual identity is something completely new for the brand, there is something that feels a bit nostalgic about the new look. The rough edges and inky illustrations paired with the rounded serif type provide an aesthetic reminiscent of children’s books—similar to a look that combines the friendly personality of Curious George and the quirky illustration style of Shel Silverstein. It’s bold and new and weird, but with current trends that are moving further from “perfect” and more toward imperfect and human, the Mailchimp brand is right where it needs to be.
