Scribd is the document sharing tool nearly everyone’s used but not many remember. With nearly two million contributors and over 200 million documents, you can access everything from washing machine manuals to studies on ancient botany. The brand has an incredible drive to facilitate knowledge sharing and discovery, but this mission was getting lost in its functional, product-focused approach to its expression.

We worked closely with the team to build a brand around their promising story. One that rejects our modern fixation on fast results and hot takes, and instead supports contributors and readers in their quest to understand deeply. Borrowing cues from the world of referencing, we positioned Scribd as life’s bibliographer— a platform that gives people much needed context to truly understand the big and small of everyday life.

Our world is fixated on quick results. Learning about complex histories in 30 second videos. Taking opinion as gospel. But there are people out there who still want to understand. Not just on a surface level, but truly know a subject and its nuance. Those are the people Scribd serves. We used referencing as an apt metaphor for the way information and ideas connect to one another, as well as the role Scribd plays in people’s lives.

Just as you would a bibliography, you can scan through the site to get additional information on topics you’re interested in. You can see this metaphor in the bracketed logo, the use of symbols and annotations to expand on, and add additional context to, hero headlines. And you can read it in our pragmatic tone of voice, which states things directly while using compelling detail.

We couldn’t ignore the reality that people still want to access trustworthy information without unnecessary effort. This encouraged us to centre clarity and credibility throughout the brand. Leaning into organic colours found in the real world, we crafted a black and off-white palette with a single bright green to guide people through the platform. Our custom icons signpost and direct people to the right information.

We chose a humanist sans serif that doesn’t blend into Scribd’s PDFs, but offers ease as people move through the site. Our nod to referencing reinforces the credibility of the information on the site, while a more formal approach to writing adds authority and helps the brand stand out from the more overtly friendly approach found across tech.

It was essential that our brand helps and inspires each reader on their journey to information. Our graphic language speaks to the depth and breadth of the platform, combining text, colour and art direction to reflect the interesting ways people uncover knowledge. Our art direction also reflects this range, using ambiguous and textural snapshots to pique curiosity and speak to topics big and small. The layering found in our graphic language, as well as the writing which link topics and cultural phenomenons to available documents, illustrates all of the ways information is both connected and connects people to one another.