Brand and digital studio Koto has unveiled a refreshed brand identity for Glassdoor, a leader on insights around jobs and companies. Glassdoor’s rebranding coincides with the launch of a new mobile app and web experience featuring real-time conversations and communities to advance their careers. Koto’s redesigned brand for Glassdoor is intended to align with the company’s reimagined mission of creating a healthier, more transparent work community for all. The brand idea of‘ “your work people are here” highlights the significance of the relationships formed throughout one’s career.
From this brand idea an impactful tagline emerged — “Where work talk gets real” — encapsulating the essence of the platform as a space for authentic and meaningful conversations about work experiences. A new color palette, playful illustrations, animations, and an encouraging tone of voice reflect this idea. The result is a product experience where every interaction on Glassdoor aims to foster authentic discussions on important subjects such as equal pay, workplace diversity, and life beyond work. A new logo brings to life the Glassdoor positioning — being the center of workplace conversations — with “gd” shaped quotations flanking the wordmark. The uppercase treatment of the type is fresh and gutsy, swinging open when animated as a nod to Glassdoor’s name. Koto partnered with Giulia Boggio to create a custom typeface “Glassdoor Sans,” a geometric sans serif that features quirky characteristics inspired by office vernacular.
To further the aspect of community, Koto partnered with Josep Puy to create an illustration library for product and marketing that visualizes the key themes of conversation, diversity, anonymity, and collaboration. These illustrations will be used across various brand, marketing, and product touch-points. The icon system reflects the concept of “staying open,” featuring icons with intentionally missing pixels that symbolize transparency and openness. To enhance the digital product experience, custom emojis are included to add personality and expressiveness to user interactions. In line with the amount of data Glassdoor offers its users, the new brand system highlights the most salient data through infographics, illustrative storytelling, and a motion system inspired by the product experience — typing, scrolling, and revealing.
“Our work with Glassdoor was focused on creating a holistic brand that exudes confidence and open-mindedness, amplifying users’ voices through transparent conversations and real workplace insights,” says Deanna German, Koto Creative Director. “We wanted to represent the evolution of Glassdoor from being a destination for insights, to a thriving community for real workplace conversations. By strategically positioning the brand and designing a visually captivating identity, we have empowered Glassdoor to truly own their brand experience and thrive in their next phase of growth. The logo, typography, illustrations, icons, and unique brand voice act as powerful amplifiers of Glassdoor’s mission, reflecting their commitment to participating in a healthier and more transparent work community for all.”
