500px unveil a distinct new brand

500px is one of the best photo communities on the Web, a great place to post images, and download unique stock. And to celebrate their sixth birthday, they’ve rolled out a fantastic rebrand.

There are two elements to the new brand identity: a logotype, which reads ‘500px’; and a logo mark, which combines the characters into a dynamic, and intriguing graphic.

Designed by Focus Lab, one of the key objectives of the logotype was to clarify how “500px” should be pronounced. Web designers usually pronounce the name five-hun-dred-pix-els, whereas photographers pronounce it five-hun-dred-pix, both are wrong; the correct pronunciation is five-hun-dred-pea-ex; it’s questionable to what extent the logotype clarifies that.

The logotype is certainly legible and it’s far more distinct and interesting than the recent crop of geometric sans-serif corporate rebrands — despite being a geometric sans.

However the more engaging element of 500px’s rebrand is the logo mark. Built from the different characters in the logotype, and resembling a ’70s soccer shirt number, the mark is distinct and original.

It’s clear that 500px elected to develop both a logotype and a logo mark because the former performs badly in square layouts, like app icons or social media avatars. It’s a happy accident because the mark they’ve ended up with is by far the strongest aspect of the identity.

Usable as a mark, and as a graphic element within design, the finger print-like mark features circles that seem to rotate — even in the static version — reminiscent of the lens of a camera.

Both the logotype and the mark are rolling out across desktop, iOS and Android apps right now.

Ben Moss

Ben Moss has designed and coded work for award-winning startups, and global names including IBM, UBS, and the FBI. When he’s not in front of a screen he’s probably out trail-running.