As the astronaut looks up at the stars, she’s ready to explore. Our team is driven by curiosity. An astronaut’s helmet, reflecting a star in the distance, embodies our ambitions to build the platform that unlocks new ways of exploring streets, cities, and our planet.
An astronaut helmet now marks every Mapbox map, wherever our maps are used.
Designed by Will Dove
I’ve admired Will Dove for years, so it was a pleasure to work with him on this project. My goals and guidance were simple, and he exceeded expectations. Here’s the direction I gave Will:
Most importantly, I explained that we need a logo that our customers will display alongside our maps as a badge of pride, not just as a watermark. The logo should have a unique, simple silhouette that works well at small sizes, especially for mobile screens, and does not distract from the beautiful maps designed with our platform.
This logo is a 100% fresh start of a larger internal rebrand. I told Will to not overthink the name “Mapbox” or the existing brand. Maps are cool, but boxes are boring. We’re not waiting for a comprehensive brand system with principles, styleguides, and animated advertisements, etc. - we’re shipping now. Working iteratively is central to the culture at Mapbox, on every team. Now that the logo is complete, we’ll start using it, see what works, and keep refining.
Midway through the design process, I had a dream that I unwrapped a Tootsie Pop, looking for the lucky shooting star. Growing up, I was obsessed with finding the star to get free Tootsie Pops. On the wrapper, I saw an astronaut pointing up at the star. I told Will about this dream, and it inspired the final design.
Download the logo and read the usage guidelines on our press page.