Airbnb unveils its new identity, launches redesigned mobile app and website

Airbnb unveiled a complete brand and product redesign today at an exclusive event for top hosts and guests.

Airbnb calls its new logo a “multi-state moving identity,” and a “3D modular symbol” that’s “adaptive to environments,” as VentureBeat revealed exclusively on Monday. Airbnb quietly announced the live-streamed event last week.

According to Airbnb chief Brian Chesky, “Airbnb started as a way to rent rooms and it was just a tiny little website and over time grew. Today we’re in 34,000 cities and 194 countries.” But, Chesky said, “Airbnb isn’t really understood … Our core idea, what Airbnb is about at its core, is belonging. At Airbnb, we imagine a world where you can belong anywhere.”

“We were thinking,” said Chesky, “how could we communicate this idea of belonging?  A universal symbol of belonging.”

Say goodbye to Airbnb’s Web 2.0 bubble logo. The design below, created by DesignStudio, represents Airbnb’s departure from tech brand to consumer brand.

Here’s a look at the new site:

The new design represents a major aesthetic shift, but structurally the layout has hardly changed at all. Here’s a look at the new search, listing, and host pages.

Finally, here’s a preview of Airbnb’s new mobile app, which will be made available later today on both iOS and Android:

A series of photographs obtained by VentureBeat earlier this week reveal the vast design variations Airbnb considered before settling on its new identity.

Built into Airbnb’s rebrand, the company also debuted a custom typeface, dubbed “Air.”

Above: Airbnb’s new “Air” typeface, shown in its heaviest weight.

The rebrand and product redesign above offers Airbnb’s public relations team a break from the startup’s consistent legislative turmoil. Most recently, the company was slapped with a $40K fine for ‘illegal’ rentals in Barcelona.

As for the company’s finances, Airbnb raised a $500 million mega round in May.