Opinion BY Armin

Virb is the New Virb

In the Mesozoic era of social networking — that distant year of 2007 — a new community was poised to take over the web, replacing the aging and visually painful MySpace species. Virb allowed users, who joined by invitation only, to craft and customize extremely elegant and sophisticated personal profiles with all the accoutrements of online social behavior. Photos, videos, messages, etc. MySpace died a natural death. Virb, however, was crushed by the imminent rise of Facebook with a nail in the coffin courtesy of Twitter. Acknowledging that they couldn’t compete with Facebook, Virb is re-emerging not as a social tool but as a website-building tool, harnessing the effectiveness of its personalization tools so that photographers can put up a decent portfolio or bands a decent promotional site. The new service also benefits from hosting company Media Temple being the parent company of Virb since 2008. While most companies who didn’t succeed at first would be compelled to change names and launch under a different personality, Virb is betting that its name, in good-standing condition with the web world, can handle the complete switch of service and business model.

Our challenge was redesigning a brand already established with a face and reputation as a social network. Virb’s direction and mission — to build elegant and easy websites — led us to develop an identity that is simple and strong, keeping longevity in mind. Brands need to be extensible — to grow and be shaped aesthetically in different formats and presentations, but also to retain flexibility in how they are used when delivering a message, purpose or idea.
— Naz Hamid, Principal of Weightshift, on Virb’s blog

The old logo was a perfectly acceptable wordmark and could have probably been used in the new Virb, but an effective identity redesign always helps to signal change and that’s exactly what this one, by San Francisco-based Weightshift, does. The visual change is pretty obvious: from extended chunkiness to condensed spryness. I’m not sure what the dot of the old one meant, but that has been replaced by a vibrant blue plus sign that adds a nice playful element to the logo, and signifies that Virb + You can make sweet design music together. I like the new logo quite a bit, that specific set of characters looks nice condensed and I like the “dirty” joints, makes it a little imperfect. The “V” on its own looks slightly flimsy and fragile, but I like how it keeps the position of the plus sign from where the “I” would and transforms it into a modifier of sorts. Overall, a nice rebrand, but the new market Virb is entering is already flooded with options, hopefully they can thrive and survive this time around.

Thanks to Russel Quadros for first tip.

Pisling’s comment is:

Actually, I liked the old one better.

On Jul.29.2010 at 06:53 AM

Sean Scannell’s comment is:

Much prefer the older version.

The alignment of beta, music, built with additions look particularly ill considered. It just doesn’t work in my opinion, looks far too forced to fit the design.

On Jul.29.2010 at 07:02 AM

Luke Jones’s comment is:

The old one looks much more recent than the current one…

On Jul.29.2010 at 07:22 AM

Rondal’s comment is:

I rather enjoy the re-brand and its application seems to fit with the design. The temporary website in particular uses the new typeface in a consistent and intelligent way.

Although I’m not familiar with the original brand, this redesign appeals to me both as an individual designer and photographer. From a visual standpoint it definitely stands out from the trendy “web 2.0” of similar services that already have a foothold in a marketplace (ie. SquareSpace).

On Jul.29.2010 at 07:34 AM

Richard Baird’s comment is:

A plus-sign dynamic to add extra words and boxes to captures images inside, to me these are the most obvious (and laziest) ways of extending a brand from of a logo, to me it’s disappointing.

On Jul.29.2010 at 07:37 AM

Steve Rose’s comment is:

It doesn’t say to me anything about creating designs. Makes me think about an ambulance service.

On Jul.29.2010 at 07:54 AM

Everett’s comment is:

Looking at what the add-on tags say, I think it can be assumed that those marks will be very small. At such a size, that ultra-condensed, all-caps type will be impossible to read. If I had a Virb site and they tried to put a “Built With” logo on it at that size, I’d move over to SquareSpace.

On Jul.29.2010 at 08:11 AM

Kevin’s comment is:

I’m really interested in what they’ll do. The logo on it’s own isn’t much, but the strategic rebrand could work out really well.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:00 AM

Brandon Oxendine’s comment is:

An ambulance service? Jeez, include a plus sign and you run an ambulance service.

I think the new logo is an improvement. The old logo was *bold geometric sans-serif* typed out with a dot next to it. I’d more quickly call that lazy than this. The type is interesting, the plus is positioned nicely, the colors are friendly, and the website is super clean.

While I’d never use this service, I think it’s a nice, and necessary, rebrand. Whether it succeeds is a different argument.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:05 AM

jonathan’s comment is:

This seems VERY Cargo influenced. Tight, condensed type. Little icon that you can use for branding in small applications. I applaud the effort to move away from Gotham, but this seems like a bit of a rip off.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:09 AM

Tom’s comment is:

It feels a little too reminiscent of one of their competitors: Cargo Collective (http://cargocollective.com). The similar typographic style and placement of a seemingly pointless symbol won’t do them many favours in setting themselves apart from the competition.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:11 AM

Tom’s comment is:

Looks like Jonathan beat me by 2 minutes. Nevermind.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:12 AM

Rafe’s comment is:

I think the plus sign is poorly thought through. It distorts the reading of the wordmark - In one example it reads You Plus Virb - I get it. but then it also reads Plus Beta Virb, which I don’t understand. It seems to me to be an attempt at trying to introduce an element that allows for brand extensions, but it just is not well done.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:20 AM

cdub’s comment is:

Looks like the font is Garage Thin, which was very popular about… 10 years ago. Strange?

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:25 AM

MWorrell’s comment is:

The plus sign is too fat, so it has medical connotations for me.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:33 AM

jen’s comment is:

I think it’s an improvement and the plus sign adds a lot by providing a pop of color and making the wordmark more graphic than it would be with type alone.

Like how they thought everything through - the weakest part to me is their use of photography in the badges. They really could have picked better shots. The photo-badge one on the right is the only one that works. There is some seriously awesome amateur photography out there and Virb has to show they understand that market. A cloudy sky and a circa-2006 desaturated landscape don’t provide enough drama.

I think on the busyness of a blog, in context, this will look pretty good, actually.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:38 AM

lance’s comment is:

The plus sign is very medical/religious - but I assume it’s to suggest Virb is there to help you, assist you, guide you in making your own site.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:40 AM

jonathan’s comment is:

Good thinkin’ Tom! Same idea at the same time, that’s crazy.

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:47 AM

Josh’s comment is:

View the logo in context on the site virb.com and you’ll fall in love. I’ve also got a big place in my heart for that color pallete so I’m a little biased but…

On Jul.29.2010 at 09:53 AM

Matt Steel’s comment is:

Overall I like this, except one detail. I’ll bet no one but a designer would notice, but did anyone else notice the kerning is too tight at IR, compared to VI and RB? It’s hard to excuse poor kerning in a logotype with only four letters.

But again: Besides that, I think it’s nice. Maybe not groundbreaking, but it works.

On Jul.29.2010 at 10:42 AM

Rafe’s comment is:

Thanks Tom/Jonathan for pointing out Cargo - It does seem to similar - you would think that the designer[s] would have researched the competition a little more closely.

On Jul.29.2010 at 10:55 AM

Impossibly Stupid’s comment is:

Too clinical. It doesn’t help that V and Vir are common short-hands for virus. Making me think of a disease isn’t the best branding choice. Then again, they could boldy make the choice to run with that:

“Feeling lost in the crowd on sites like Facebook? Ask your doctor if Virb is right for you.”

On Jul.29.2010 at 11:20 AM

David’s comment is:

The logo absolutely MUST be the entire word: “VIRB” (because of it’s implication as an ‘action’ a la the word “VERB”). It means “DO”; it means “get out there”; it means “publish and be creative”.

GOTTA have the whole word.

The plus sign isn’t as cool as a circle. The circle is a tried and true geometric shape.

I like the font and the fact that the letters are ‘tall’. Nice shape.

On Jul.29.2010 at 11:30 AM

Luke’s comment is:

Even the treatment of the text over the photo is cargo-like

On Jul.29.2010 at 11:31 AM

boon’s comment is:

This is most certainly Garage. It’s odd that Weightshift didn’t customize a condensed sans or at least use something akin to Giorgio Sans. Feels like everyone is aping the H&M Jil Sander mark in one way or another these days.

On Jul.29.2010 at 11:45 AM

Jw’s comment is:

I wish the old Virb had taken off… I liked it a lot as a user and member. I feel like where they’re going now makes sense, though it is a service I have no use for personally.

I can take or leave the plus sign… I never really thought much of the circle before. The word is a better focus than a symbol, in my opinion.

Also, the new site is launching July 2010? They’d better get on that tonight! :)

On Jul.29.2010 at 12:20 PM

Melanie’s comment is:

I can appreciate that they have gone—ever so slightly—against the grain with the new choice in type. I don’t feel as though I’ve seen it a zillion times, and it looks nice in that rounded square.

I’m also very interested to see what this service does, given that Cargo is already available. Virb might do okay, because portfolio builders don’t seem to have as much of a strangehold as social networking sites do. Makes more sense to concentrate users on one social network, but having creatives spread across portfolio hosts doesn’t, in my opinion, affect functionality or convenience so much.

On Jul.29.2010 at 02:25 PM

Robert’s comment is:

I think Garage Gothic is making it’s come back. Cargo uses it too!

http://cargocollective.com

On Jul.29.2010 at 04:01 PM

WilhelmR’s comment is:

Love it.

On Jul.29.2010 at 07:02 PM

Josh Clement’s comment is:

I think they defiantly have seen and liked what cargo have done in terms of clean, customisable web pages… and font choice

On Jul.29.2010 at 10:03 PM

Joram’s comment is:

The usage on the photo’s gives me a religious association

On Jul.30.2010 at 04:17 AM

Sarah’s comment is:

I actually will disagree with the sentiments about the plus sign. It really makes me think of nurses or doctors. I like the concept, but the plus is not really working.

On Jul.30.2010 at 01:48 PM

MSGDS’s comment is:

I like the old logo. The new typeface is ok, but the “+” is not working.

On Jul.31.2010 at 05:26 PM

My name is design workshop’s comment is:

I have always enjoyed seen Garage Gothic being used, until now. Mmmm, type treatment seems a little too clumsy.

On Jul.31.2010 at 09:37 PM

Isabelle’s comment is:

The problem with the plus sign is that it makes the mark (on its own) look like it’s some upgraded or paid service version of Virb, which makes no sense. Especially when it’s just that V+ shortened mark. It makes perfect sense with extra words added, though.

It does get points for not looking exactly like every other web brand. Yay for semi-originality!

On Aug.03.2010 at 07:55 PM

Stripeyhorse design’s comment is:

I like the new one more. But I do agree with Sean’s comment, the alignment of ‘beta’ ‘music’ and ‘you’ just looks really forced and unconsidered.

On Aug.04.2010 at 06:24 AM

phong’s comment is:

don’t like both :(

On Aug.09.2010 at 01:23 AM

obse.’s comment is:

It’s like Cargo + Tumblr + Muxtape + Twitter, but with ANY of the things that excite me about those.

On Aug.20.2010 at 01:33 PM