Round forms carry approachability across the whole brand, all the way down into the typography. But the circle is the grammar, not the idea. The system is rooted in the space beyond the cloud where Salesforce clients transform their businesses on the platform. Geometry gives us the form. The atmosphere concept gives us meaning.
These letterforms are already generous and round, and there was more range in them than the system had asked for yet. So we put them to work with more scale, more contrast and more dimension, using type as a graphic element in its own right.
Astro stands for something true about Salesforce, a company that has always been fun, human and approachable in a category that often isn’t. Pulling back on the character meant that warmth had to live somewhere else, and we had to prove the system could deliver it on its own.
A lot of the evolution work was subtraction. We simplified the existing Salesforce brand and re-established the core identity elements, which meant defining the absolute minimum a piece needs to still be unmistakably Salesforce. That floor is what makes volume control possible.
The real measure of a system is what other people can make with it.
I don’t want to claim that the work carries the emotional weight of the diaspora experience, but more so that it’s a reflection of my own identity and has elements or throughlines that can be drawn to a broader story and historical context within that relationship.
Piragua and Between Worlds in general is really about exploring those tensions and acknowledging them, but it isn’t a judgement.
The most resilient brand systems aren't built on exhaustive rules – they're anchored by a few essential elements, and designed to move.
The brands that endure won't be the ones that try to control every pixel. They'll be the ones who understand what to hold onto, what to let breathe, and what to push into new territory.
New York studio Athletics evolved Salesforce's identity to support its shift into agentic AI through the Agentforce platform. Built around an "Atmosphere of Possibility," the system expands Salesforce's cloud-circle heritage with dimensional forms, a brighter multicolour palette, 3D icons, illustration, motion and scalable implementation guidelines. The refresh retains Salesforce Sans and a customised ITC Avant Garde while using Astro more selectively and providing global teams with a Webflow-based Brand Central toolkit.
PRINT Magazine’s feature 'How Letterforms Carry Culture' by Amelia Nash explores Daniel Irizarry’s typographic project 'Between Worlds', which examines Puerto Rican identity and diaspora through three custom typefaces. The article discusses how Irizarry, a designer and creative director at Athletics, uses typography as a form of cultural preservation and critique of commercial design systems. Through interviews, it highlights the emotional and historical depth embedded in his type design practice.
The Dieline article profiles designer Daniel Irizarry’s personal project 'Between Worlds,' a typographic self-portrait exploring Puerto Rican identity and the cultural duality experienced by members of the diaspora. The piece reflects on the tension of belonging to both Puerto Rican and American cultures while feeling unclaimed by either.
Creative Boom’s insight article by Daniel Irizarry, creative director at Athletics, explores how modern brand systems must balance structure and flexibility to remain resilient in a fast-changing cultural and technological landscape. Drawing on experiences with clients like Google and Okta, Irizarry argues that strong brands are anchored by a few essential elements and thrive when teams are empowered to adapt creatively. The piece emphasizes experimentation, collaboration, and the importance of defining what’s fixed versus flexible in identity design.