TechCrunch
As part of a redesign of the top technology news outlet on the web, I led the art direction and visual design of the brand refresh to breathe new life into the digital publication.
The highly collaborative project culminated in a new design framework that modernized the reading experience, drove engagement and increased revenue, in addition to reestablishing TechCrunch alongside its tech news cohort.
Work & Co • Assoc. Design Director
Snapshot of the responsive redesign
TechCrunch website, before redesignThe original TechCrunch branding
The previous design was beginning to feel claustrophobic and dense, especially when viewed on modern displays and resolutions, which begged for better use of the increased real estate and more breathing room.The colors were rooted in the original TechCrunch branding, and also began to feel muddy and dated with its lacklustre forest green hues, reminiscent of the limitations once posed by older graphics processors.
Updated logo mark
Having long established itself as a publication synonymous with technology itself, we believed the ‘TC’ acronym was strong enough to stand on its own, and dropped the accompanying wordmark that was once a part of the full logo lock-up. We also amped up the saturation of the green, and applied a gradient to add further dimensionality.
Landing page for one of the verticals
Here, you can see how the updated branding has been integrated into the overall redesign of the website. The pops of green borrowed from the new brand were used sparingly and strategically, to avoid over-saturation as well as drawing attention to key calls-to-action for the reader.
Drop-caps inspired by the logomarkCTAs leverage the green for emphasis
Dynamic animations such as article lengthHighlighting shareability at the end
We wanted to sprinkle in touches of the brand all throughout the site to create one cohesive and ownable experience. In addition to the updated green and the use of the gradients, it also included references to the pixel-inspired logomark and the use of a geometric grid.
Custom drop-caps for articlesPixel-inspired geometric grid
Leaning into this pixel-inspired geometric grid allowed us to get creative with additional branding opportunities such as TechCrunch Disrupt, the flagship conference organized by the publication.