Airbnb Logo Meaning And History

Airbnb is an American holiday online rental marketplace based in San Francisco, California, and The United States.

The business was founded by Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, and Joe Gebbia in 2008.

The new Airbnb logo has undoubtedly played a role in its success and was developed by a London-based design agency called belong together.

• The Airbnb logo is simple and symbolises affordability, efficiency, and trust.
• The logo has not been redesigned much, and the current logo has only two predecessors.

Airbnb Logo Design Elements

The Airbnb visual identity doesn’t have many variants created throughout its history, as there has been only one redesign until today.

Current Logo (2014- Today)

The designers created this version of the ” Airbnb” logo in 2014. The logo might seem simple at initial sight, but it has hidden meanings in its abstract and lightweight design, placed on the left from the lower case wordmark.

In 2014, Airbnb did not simply update the logo but gave it a new identity with the slogan “belong anywhere.”This new logo is a combination of four different icons, people, places, love, and Airbnb. Together they make a shape that is both simplistic and unique.

Airbnb Logo Shape

The word ” Airbnb” is written in lowercase without any visual splits in the name.

• The word “Airbnb” is written in all lowercase, in the colour sunset orange.
• The slogan “belong anywhere” is placed symmetrically below the primary logo and is in the colour grey.
• There is a new addition of an emblem, which resembles a rounded letter “A”.
• The “A” has a drop-shaped loop in the centre, which represents the location pin symbol, and a person’s head to show the method of choosing the accommodation.
• The icon’s main shape also looks like a heart, turned upside down, which represents the company’s attention to the customer and their warmth.

Colour

The color selection for the new logo for “Airbnb” was completely different from the original logo colour.

• The colour of the new logo is A beautiful sunset orange, with a tinge of pink.
• This colour of Vivid sunsets symbolises energy, warmth, and good health, and hence was used by the creators of the “Airbnb” logo.

Logo Font

The font used for the logo is presumably Bello script. Bello is an award-winning brush typeface with a lot of ligatures and washes.

• The Airbnb watermark is in lowercase. It is traditional and very similar to semi bold fonts.
• The shape of the letters of “Airbnb” are rounded and have elegant contours.
• This Bello typeface makes the logo look serious and stable, evoking a sense of responsibility and loyalty.

Logo Influence And Trivia

The Airbnb company redesigned their logo to support its growth. The continued growth and success enabled the Airbnb company to project a new image and fulfil that global potential by creating a new and more engaging logo.
• One unknown fact about the logo is related to the Founder Brian Chesky and his roommates. Both the roommates rented out air mattresses because of impending rent, and the use of “air” in the title is a tribute to the company’s roots.

Slogan

Airbnb’s identity and logo have evolved a lot over time, and with it, the focus is on its community of guests and hosts.

The new “live there” tagline, launched with the first campaign in January 2016, is the natural evolution of the message that air b and b has been working to deliver to a broader audience.

Airbnb Logo in 2007- 2008

This slogan started in 2007 as a strictly functional logo representing an affordable alternative to hotels.
• The logo read out “AirBed & Breakfast”, with a “Forget hotels” below it.
• The word airbed had the letters ‘A’ and ‘B’ in uppercase.
• The word “breakfast” had the letter ‘B’ in uppercase.
• The words “Airbeds” and “Breakfast” what joints together using the ampersand.
• The front part, “AirBed &” was in the colour blue, the following part was in the colour pink, and the slogan was in grey.
• The logo had a white border around the characters, and the slogan was mentioned below on the right corner.

Reason: This logo was redesigned because the company decided to go by the name “Airbnb” instead of “Airbeds & Breakfast”. The colour selected for the new logo also represented trust, stability, and intelligence and therefore was perfect for a logo of a startup rental homes and Hotel Company.

Airbnb Logo in 2008-2009

The company designed the Airbnb original logo in 2008, which was not the first version, as a company started with another name and used it for a couple of years before rebranding.

With the slogan ” travel like a human”, the brand message started to include more emphasis on the community aspect, highlighting the human contact as the centre of Airbnb experience.
The original logo has its own minimalistic and straightforward essence. The first Airbnb version off the logo featured of white and blue cursive inscription. Brian Chesky played a significant role in developing the logo but soon decided to change it completely.

• The wordmark in the lower case and the original colour scheme looked friendly and welcoming.
• It evoked a sense of security and reliability.
• It showed the company’s confidence and professionalism.
• The word “Airbnb” was visually split into two parts with the “air” slightly overlapping the “BnB”.
• The word “Airbnb” was written in cursive with no uppercase letters.
• The word “Airbnb” was in white and had a light blue border around it.
• The slogan “Travel like a human” was placed right under it, in a smaller and more formal font.
• The “Travel like a human” was in the colour grey.

Reason: This logo was redesigned because Airbnb wanted to connect with their customers, and the new logo icon was a combination of four other icons.
Therefore, it is noticeable that the “Airbnb” logo played an essential role in the company’s impact. With this massive development in the Logo category, Airbnb continues to strive and grow.