Mailchimp rebrand by Collins

This project has been selected in the Design – Brand Identity category in The Annual 2019, CR’s award scheme celebrating the best in commercial creativity

If the company you work for sends out marketing emails, chances are there’ll be using Mailchimp. The marketing platform has expanded hugely since it was founded in 2001. When it came to updating its brand identity, however, the company’s mantra was simple: just because we’ve grown doesn’t mean we have to grow up.

San Francisco-based studio Collins was keen to keep Mailchimp’s much-loved winking chimp mascot Freddie, but gave him a slicker overall look. The studio also replaced the previous logotype with a chunkier version, adopted Cavendish Yellow – the shade of “sunshine and optimism”, according to Mailchimp – as its main brand colour, and introduced playful illustrations and animations made by in-house artists.

The new identity is a testament to Mailchimp’s unique brand of humour, and is a good example of how rapidly growing tech companies can still hang on to at least some of the fun of their startup years.

Credits:
Agency: Collins. R/GA Designers: Caroline Bagley, Erik Berger Vaage. Creative Director: Ben Crick. Senior Copywriter: Tom Elia. Senior Producer: Kirsten Harkonen. Associate Designer: Sohee Kim. Design Director: David Nguyen. Strategist: Angie Shih. Strategy Director: Anna Sternoff. Motion Director: Kris Wong. CCOs: Brian Collins, Matt Luckhurst.