Retool aims to provide developers the building blocks to more quickly, easily, and intuitively build good software.
When I went to work for Retool in early 2023, I was excited about joining a talented team and taking on the task of building a world class brand for Retool. At Retool, I worked with the most talented team I’ve ever been a part of, completely rethinking the brand from top-to-bottom, to more strategically align with our primary audience: pragmatic builders.
The logo is a thoughtful evolution of the old mark, representative of the “building blocks” that Retool provides its users. Like our product, it feels smooth and connected, flowing and flexible, yet bold and sturdy.
The visual system is a flexible illustration toolkit comprised of two distinct styles: ‘build’ and ‘ship’. The build style is technical and represents the process of building an idea for good software. The ship style embraces a sense of wonder and aspiration, an imaginative approach to well-designed, functional software and all that it enables.
When I went to work for Retool in early 2023, I was excited about joining a talented team and taking on the task of building a world class brand for Retool. At Retool, I worked with the most talented team I’ve ever been a part of, completely rethinking the brand from top-to-bottom, to more strategically align with our primary audience: pragmatic builders.
The logo is a thoughtful evolution of the old mark, representative of the “building blocks” that Retool provides its users. Like our product, it feels smooth and connected, flowing and flexible, yet bold and sturdy.
The visual system is a flexible illustration toolkit comprised of two distinct styles: ‘build’ and ‘ship’. The build style is technical and represents the process of building an idea for good software. The ship style embraces a sense of wonder and aspiration, an imaginative approach to well-designed, functional software and all that it enables.
“An R made of building blocks, pieces of a story not yet all told, pieces of whatever users will build. An evolution of what was that leaves room for further reimagining.”
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Logo concepts.
The brand was developed around two distinct types of visuals: build and ship.
Build is inspired by technical drawings – blueprints, wireframes, plans, etc. It is simple and straightforward and we use it when talking about technical features of our products. It can also be used as accents and supporting visuals for elements of the product.
The ship style is based in reality, but with a sense of wonder. It is used for high visibility moments such as the website header and campaigns. It is used when telling aspirational stories of what Retool enables.
Build is inspired by technical drawings – blueprints, wireframes, plans, etc. It is simple and straightforward and we use it when talking about technical features of our products. It can also be used as accents and supporting visuals for elements of the product.
The ship style is based in reality, but with a sense of wonder. It is used for high visibility moments such as the website header and campaigns. It is used when telling aspirational stories of what Retool enables.
Credits:
Justin Pervorse - Head of Brand Design
Ryan Lucas - Head of Design
Gabie Matte - Associate Creative Director
Cam Sackett - Interactive Designer
John Choura - Interactive Designer
JD Reeves - Brand Designer
Chris Sandlin - Brand Designer
Hannah Meng - Brand Designer
Jordon Chueng - Illustrator
Etienne Ma - Brand Strategist
Thom Allen - Engineering Manager
David Robbins - Engineer
Giles Lavelle - Engineer
Kim Fellman - Design Producer
Willa Gross - Design Producer
Illustrations: Banh Joy, Jaedoo Lee, Lili des Bellons, Shane Fu.
Video/Motion: OK Motion and RightHand Films.