There have been some phenomenal (and less than phenomenal) thoughts posted in the wake of Airbnb releasing their new branding. I very much fall on the side of loving it, because it’s clever, but in a way I haven’t heard much talk about.

Airbnb and the folks at DesignStudio were smart, so smart that it couldn’t have possibly been by accident. I’ve long been an armchair-advocate for designing branding that is easily reproducible — in stencil, or by hand (when appropriate). Airbnb has done exactly that, they’ve given their community control over the mark.

Why would it possibly matter that someone can now doodle the Airbnb logo in their notebook?

I’m so glad you asked. The way I see it, control leads to feelings of ownership which lead to feelings of entitlement. And who are the loudest advocates? People who feel like their rights are being taken away.

Whose business is this?

One of the first things I create (as silly as it may sound) when coming up with a business idea is a name and a logo (this is pure personal pattern matching, take grain of salt). Now your extra bedroom or couch that has been pulling in a couple hundred dollars every other month has a logo. One you can make yourself and be proud of. A logo that you can put up in your window, or trace out in stones off your front path. Your room is a full fledged small business with branding unique to you, but still part of the group.

Uncomfortable hospitality.

This is the kind of branding that should make the hospitality lobby shudder. They’re fighting in New York and in San Francisco. They’re fighting like taxis are fighting Uber and Lyft. But now they’ll be fighting an army that sewed their own uniforms from the same pattern.

“This is mine. Don’t fuck with me, or what I’m doing.” But it’s more. “This is ours”. That’s some powerful shit.

Legally speaking, this is one of the best logos I’ve ever seen. Political campaigns take note.