A decade after its founding, Patreon had succeeded in inventing a new model for creators to connect more closely to fans, who as ‘Patrons’ could directly support their favorite creators – whether they were whiskey-tasters or musicians, journalists or poet-podcasters. But there were still barriers between creators and fans, and challenges to creators in continuing to carve out independent paths toward putting out work. 

Patreon saw the opportunity to build a more connected and empowering platform. We worked with them to create a new brand identity that could capture this transformation from a membership company to a ‘creator company’ with a new vision. 

A brand as unfinished as creativity 

Our first question was: how much could Patreon itself take a backseat and let the creators be heroes? We worked to create an identity that was unstable, unfinished – as DIY as their creators, and as WIP as the process of creativity itself. 

This was the ideal foundation for a truly meaningful dynamic logo. We created a fluid, rounded shape derived from the letter “P” to act as the container for endless iterations. Collaborating with renowned 3D artist David McLeod, we explored what the material of creativity might be – what was Patreon made of? How could it behave? What textures could it take on? Dinamo Type Foundry executed a wordmark in the same spirit that could shift from a very thin, subtle version that keeps all attention on the creator, to one with more weight when the focus was on Patreon itself. Simultaneously, the Patreon team redesigned the app experience for both creators and fans, and further developed the approach to art direction. 

Transferring ownership to creators 

Patreon launched its evolved product alongside this more emotive, expansive and artistic brand, marking the occasion with its first-ever community-driven Creator Fest. The new brand centres more than 250,000 creators who have made over $3.5 billion through the platform – offering them a variety of ways to iterate and make it one that reflects and works for them.

Since launching in October 2023, Patreon has seen a 10% increase in monthly web visits and 2M unique monthly visitors. At Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards 2024 our work with Patreon was named Winner of the Branding category as well as Honouree for Design of the Year.

Patreon is now a brand that transfers ownership to the creators themselves, so that they’re helping to co-create the brand over the long run. With new supporting features to come, creators will soon be able to make their own version of the logo, create motion assets and customise their pages in a way that truly represents who they are. But also in a way that echoes Patreon’s commitment over the next decade to, in the words of founder Jack Conte, ‘change how art lives on the internet'.

_{Credits: 3D by David McLeod and Patreon In-House team / Wordmark and typeface by Dinamo Type Foundry / Art Direction and Product Design by Patreon In-House team.}