Brand Identity Transformation for Reddit
Reddit ditched the mascot-first identity for a comment bubble.
Pentagram collaborated with Reddit to redefine its global brand identity, creating a cohesive visual and strategic system that preserves the platform’s playful and community-driven spirit. The redesign introduced a conversation bubble as a central motif, refined the Snoo mascot into a 3D character, and developed a custom typeface and motion system to unify the brand across digital and physical touchpoints.
Set in Reddit Sans, Reddit Display
Insights
- Pentagram stopped centering Snoo and made the comment bubble the core symbol, because on Reddit the exchange of ideas is the product, not just a feature.
- The old identity had sprawled into thousands of homemade Snoo versions and 100+ colors; the refresh cleaned that up to 15 colors, plus a more unified visual system for digital and physical touchpoints.
- The bubble carries into the typefaces Reddit Sans and Reddit Display, where the round inner spaces of letters were reshaped into bubble-like forms, tying the type back to the platform’s focus on discussion.
- Snoo was rebuilt as a fully 3D character with facial expression and opposable thumbs, with Pentagram explicitly aiming for a character as iconic as Super Mario.
- Partner Natasha Jen led the project with Reddit’s in-house team. The timing was tricky: design work began before the 2023 API controversy and arrived near the IPO, when the community was still openly hostile to change.
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