TripAdvisors Quirky Logo Design Brings Branding Full Circle With A Visual Personality

Design Rush
7 min readJun 11, 2018

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TripAdvisor’s Logo Is Instantly Recognizable, Widening The Brand’s Reach

TripAdvisor is a travel organization based in the United States but known throughout the world. It’s a brand that is known for connecting people with the travel experiences that will create for them a trip they’ll never forget — this includes accommodation, restaurants and even activity recommendations.

It’s known globally for its prestige and excellence and is the largest travel website across the industry. It is home to more than 630 million reviews for over 7.5 million different listings. It aggregates the largest number of listed options in the largest number of categories. And it boasts a long list of satisfied customers.

This comes from the fact that users can easily search through these offerings with ease, with the certainty that they will be able to find just what they’re looking for — whether that’s a stellar bed and breakfast, remarkable extra-curricular activities or the best croissant in town.

And these choices all come backed with the TripAdvisor seal of approval.

These listings are ranked based on customer reviews. The more people review it, and review it positively, the higher on the search page it will land. And if these institutions get good enough reviews, they will actually get a physical seal that they can hang on their storefront and website so that people know it’s a trusted brand. That’s how iconic and exemplary the TripAdvisor name and service has become.

TripAdvisor came into being in 2000 with a headquarters in Needham, MA, and 18 years later, TripAdvisor is the travel site most used by travelers with 455 million unique, active users every month.

We’ve talked before about the efficiency and excellence of the TripAdvisor app. It’s a seamless and simple mobile platform that streamlines the booking experience, connecting users with powerful and memorable experiences. It’s an easy-to-use platform that shines for its user-friendliness and cross-platform functionality.

And this dedication and passion for travel expertise are mirrored in the brand’s mission statement or slogan — TripAdvisor: Know better. Book better. Go better. TripAdvisor wants to be the best so that it can give its users the best.

But today, we’re talking about the effectiveness of the TripAdvisor logo design. It’s a symbol that is instantly recognizable and unique across industries. It’s a logo design like no other, and it brings with it a sophistication and a superiority that can’t be ignored.

The TripAdvisor Logo Makes A Statement With Its Creative And Cool Symbol

TripAdvisor’s shining star is its owl, plain and simple. When you think of the brand, you think of their excellence in travel, of course, but when you try to think of something tangible, you think of the unique and quirky image of an owl with its bold, bright and circular eyes staring you down and offering you all the wisdom that lies beneath.

The owl symbol has been a part of the brand for years now, and it has been integrated across all channels, keeping branding consistent. You can now see this owl on posters, in marketing materials and even in commercials guiding people to the right travel decision. And that British accent is hard to miss.

But the logo came first, and it’s an image you just can’t shake.

The design itself is bold and bright. It’s made up of thick, bold and smooth flowing lines. There are a few colors used here — black for the outline, white for the empty space in the eyes, a yellow that gives the owl’s head shape and red and green in the eyes themselves.

These colors are bright but subdued. There’s just enough for this to stand out as a logo, but not too much to look tacky and outdated.

This is an image that is unique — not often do you see a brand use an owl as a logo, especially when the brand has nothing to do with animals. But here, it works. Owls are known for their wisdom, intelligence and knowledge. And that’s what this brand wants to get across — it has that same knowledge and sophistication, and you can trust them for it.

Similarly, there’s an intuitive quality here that comes from the colors in the eyes — the red represents the negative reviews, while the green the positive. This color also is consistent and cohesive throughout the brand, giving it an upstanding, regal and smart demeanor.

The TripAdvisor Wordmark Stands Out For Its Simplicity And Personality

The TripAdvisor logo is everywhere. It’s on its website, on billboards, on commercials and even on storefronts. The brand has become so emblematic and so prominent that businesses look to it to give them a boost in business, handing them a physical seal of approval that says they are backed by the travel company.

But the logo isn’t just the iconic owl, it’s also the simple and straightforward wordmark that sits beneath.

The wordmark does the opposite of what the brand does in writing out its name. Instead of writing it out with the T and A capitalized, the wordmark puts each and every letter in a lowercase, sans-serif font. This makes it cleaner, simpler and easier to read. It also adds a lightness and fluidity that makes the design — and in turn, the brand — more approachable and friendly. But just because there’s a lightness doesn’t mean that the logo doesn’t stand strong.

The logo itself is still split into two parts — the two parts just aren’t separated by capitalized letters. Instead, the word is broken up by color.

The first part of the wordmark — trip — is often seen in a black coloring. The second part — advisor — is seen in that signature bright green.

And these colors are reflected throughout the site — the iconic lime green that sits on the logo in various areas also lives on the website in its CTA boxes, headers and even in the rating bubble bar that lets users rate a hotel, restaurant or activity.

There are a number of reasons for this separation with color. The first, of course, is because of the green pops. It’s a color that stands out and grabs attention immediately — and it contrasts well with the black portion at the beginning of the wordmark.

It also makes the design standout literally, there’s almost a three-dimensional quality thanks to this use of green.

But it is also there because this separation separates the experience.

The “trip” line is in black. It’s simple and straightforward. It’s your trip, not TripAdvisor’s. And it almost says that without TripAdvisor’s help, your trip will be ordinary.

But, if you get the helpful advice — from the green, “advisor” section of the wordmark — your trip can go from dull and boring to one you will never forget.

That might be stretching it slightly, but the colors in this wordmark outline the brand and its intentions. It highlights almost subconsciously what this brand can do for you and your next trip. And you’d be foolish not to let it.

TripAdvisor’s Unique Emblem Embodies Prominence And Satisfaction

The TripAdvisor brand is known for efficiency, excellence and a travel-hungry spirit. The website and accompanying mobile interfaces are equally compelling, with streamlined navigation, recognizable design elements and a simplicity that makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

Similarly, the TripAdvisor logo strikes a chord within users. It tells people that TripAdvisor is a brand that can be trusted. TripAdvisor knows what goes into creating a memorable travel experience, and knows what users want. It knows that users who’ve had first-hand, authentic experiences with these institutions are the best judges — and it lets those voices shine.

The TripAdvisor emblem is a symbol of authority, prestige and sophistication. It’s a design that exudes knowledge and wisdom. It’s a powerful logo that leads customers on a journey to travel satisfaction.

It’s a simple design — -made up of a quirky icon and clean wordmark. It’s a design that plays with creativity and whimsy, but it isn’t too intricate or overwhelming as to take away from the overall tone of the brand itself.

The wordmark is an easy-to-read, clean design. The TripAdvisor name is written in lowercase, sans-serif font. It is divided into two sections, one that is written in the iconic TripAdvisor bright green, and one that is written in a bold black. The green excites and innovates while the black shows prominence. This clear and direct wordmark gets to the point without any muss or fuss, and the differentiation in colors gives more context to the brand. It’s a brand that advises to give you the trip of your dreams.

But the cool and creative illustration really steals the show.

This symbol is in-line with the overall branding. It’s in the image of an owl, which the brand often uses in advertisements and commercials as a knowledgeable expert guiding travelers along their journey.

This is a design that instantly grabs attention as it’s not an image that is commonly encountered.

The owl design is simple and straightforward as well. There are thick lines, cool colors and calming illustrative qualities to this symbol that attract instantly. It’s not overly detailed or complicated — but there is a hint of something more that can’t be taken away. And the clever use of red and green in the eyes subconsciously connects with anyone who views it.

These two parts combine beautifully to create a design that has stood the test of time and embodies a brand that deals with authenticity, experience and respect.

Discover the best logo designs in DesignRush’s Best Design section.

Plus, thinking of hiring an agency to build your brand identity? Check out DesignRush’s list oftop logo design and branding companies.

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