When a brand is due for a “software” update
Successful digital brands are built in great part on continuous software improvements and updates. But what happens when a top web brand’s logo has not changed since its 1.0 inception? This was the situation for eBay.
After more than a decade of growth, global adoption and inspiring countless entrepreneurs to launch their own businesses on the site, eBay’s leadership realized the need to bring the venerable logo in line with its current offering and all the new tools for buying and selling in the eBay marketplace. So, they came to Lippincott.
While the eBay had grown into one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, its innovative culture was not reflected in the decade-old brand. For Lippincott, this meant that more than a logo update was required. A full design system update, content assessment and strategy were essential to better convey the transformed brand.
Lippincott’s design approach was inspired by the companies vibrant marketplace, focusing on richer but simplified experiences. We carried forward the iconic color arrangement to reflect eBay’s heritage and revitalized the broader visual system to create streamlined arrangements that enhance visual harmony. This personality comes to life in words and copy, with a focus on dynamic expressions that are approachable, smart and most of all human.
To unveil the refreshed brand identity, Lippincott created a launch approach, core messaging and microsite concentrated on placing the logo evolution in the broader strategic context. The site encouraged the media and customers to not just reconsider the brand but to understand its vision for more personalized shopping. eBay employees enjoyed first previews of powerful visual applications of future concepts, such as billboards, shopping bags and iPads, which were displayed on digital monitors throughout the eBay campus and on the brand’s Facebook page.
The year following the new brand’s launch, eBay recorded a staggering 26 million new active buyers, equating to a 25 percent growth.