Airbnb Logo
Airbnb is an online platform for posting, searching, and renting private housing. Airbnb users have the opportunity to rent out their homes to travelers, in whole or in part. The site provides a platform for establishing contact between host and guest and is also responsible for processing transactions. Airbnb is an example of creating a successful global business from literally nothing.
Meaning and history
When it all began in 2008, Airbnb founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were struggling to make ends meet. To get money for rent, they let strangers sleep on air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment. This is what gave them the idea for a new business. A year later, in 2009, Airbnb received $7 million and reported to the Y Combinator Fund about 700 thousand booking transactions. Soon the quality of photographs, descriptions, and the site itself improved significantly, and so did the number of offers and requests. In 2011, the number of bookings on Airbnb reached 2 million and the next year, it was 5 million. Just 5 months later, Airbnb had a 10 million bookings record. Since then, the company earned its status as a leader in this market. The platform name translates as Air Bed & Bedroom.
What is Airbnb?
Airbnb is an online resource that helps one rent housing from individuals around the world. That is, people who have an extra room or house and a desire to earn money can offer their space for overnight and long-term accommodation.
2007 – 2008
The first logo of the platform features its full name printed in two lines and aligned to the left. A sky blue used for the first word creates a feeling of trust and reliability. Although the pink color used for the second line might seem unexpected and adds a playful touch to the overall image, it is considered to evoke feelings of comfort and warmth, which is exactly what one would want to feel in a rented space. The rounded font choice enhanced this feeling. There is also a tagline “idsa connecting ‘07” that is done in very small, light blue font.
2008 – 2009
It was not long before the company decided to have its name printed in one line. Besides this change, they also added a white outline with a light gray shadow. This created a light and airy feel. The tagline now said “Forget hotels” and, based on the astonishing success of the platform, many people surely did.
2009 – 2010
The long name was shortened to the version we all know today. The company continued to use the same sans-serif, rounded font along with the color palette. Just like during the previous update, the shade of the pink color has changed. This time, it looked more saturated and looked great next to the sky blue. The shorter version was easier to remember and use, while the preservation of key logo elements allowed it to stay easily recognizable.
2010 – 2013
In 2010, the logo has undergone a major change. The name was now printed using all lowercase letters and there was no longer pink. The blue color was done as a gradient. Combined with a white outline and rounded strokes, such coloring created a light and welcoming image. The logo shared many similarities with prior variations despite the changes.
2013 – 2014
The logo has been modified once again. This time, the blue color not only had a different shade but was also used as an outline for the inscription. The latter featured white characters printed using the same font as in the earlier version. The white outline with a shadow was gone, but the emblem no longer needed it to stand out on any background.
2014 – Today
This logo seems to have nothing in common with earlier Airbnb logos. First of all, it is done in red, which is related to pink but has a completely different feel. Moreover, the rounded characters that the platform emblem was closely associated with were gone. The new font featured clean strokes with straight cuts. There was only a slight association with the earlier inscriptions as all the characters were lowercase and the corners of the strokes were slightly rounded to create a more friendly appearance. For the first time, the inscription is accompanied by an illustration. The symbol has a form of a triangle with rounded corners and its bottom curving inside. The symbol is meant to represent the feeling of belonging. The logo turned out strong and at the same time welcoming.
Font and Color
The original logo features a font similar to Bold Comic Sans. It was used by the platform in updated logos until 2010 when it was replaced by a cursive, sans-serif font that also had rounded strokes. The logo introduced in 2014 uses a sans-serif font similar to OC Format Collage T1 font.
Until 2010, the color palette consisted of sky blue and pink. The first color presented the platform as a reliable intermediary, while the second was meant to represent the comfort and warmth one will feel at the place one can stay. Later, the pink was removed and in 2014, the new color palette consisted of a red color with a white background. It reflected the strong position of the brand on the market and was a great attention grabber.
