When Patreon announced its rebrand on October 4, the news set one corner of the internet on fire. It also sparked a debate on the Co.Design slack channel, as my colleagues and I scoured our brains for historical precedent. The shape had drawn parallels to a liver, an amorphous blob, and even the Eraserhead baby. But the creative direction, centered around a shape-shifting logo, seemed awfully familiar, as well.
Eventually, the internet delivered where our brains failed: Aol; The Brazilian telecom company Oi; Zocdoc; The Tate Modern. The more we looked, the more shape-shifting logos we found. But here’s the best part: every single one of these brand identities was designed by the same studio—Wolff Olins.
The global brand consultancy doesn’t have the monopoly on shape-shifting logos. Back in 2013, the San Francisco design studio Ammunition designed a fluid logo that can take an infinite number of shapes. And more recently, designer and coding whiz Talia Cotton used an algorithm to create a logo that constantly redraws itself.
But where Wolff Olins stands out is in its consistent, borderline obsessive use of morphing logos. Over the past 10 years, Wolff Olins has led at least eight brand identities featuring some kind of shape-shifting typography, image, or texture. That’s almost one shape-shifting logo every year.
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