MediaMath

Role: Logo Makeover
Year: Early 2008

Background

MediaMath is a pioneer in ad tech space, virtually creating the DSP (Demand Side Platform) category in 2007 before it even had that label. Prior to joining them as a full time employee in 2008, my former business partner and I were contracted to help them formulate what would eventually become their flagship SaaS product, TerminalOne.

At some point in the engagement, it came to light that they were very unhappy with their website and the vendor behind it. For us, that sounded like an up-sell opportunity. Before I knew it, "Redesign MediaMath Website" was at the top of my project priorities. 

One of the initial, perfunctory requests you have for a client as part of projects like this is "Please send over your branding assets in .eps or other vector format." Only in this case, we hit a wall. The logo they had recently adopted was on business cards and embedded in a Flash website (see Figure 2), but somehow no scalable version with an actual typeface existed, and the previous vendor was not an option for help. In short order, "Makeover MediaMath Logo" took over the top spot on my punch list.

RESULTS

Logo Makeover

The team was particularly fond of the inspiration for logo, the execution -- not so much. My objective/directive was to keep the spirit of the original (array of shapes representing common display ad sizes, lots of color, modern typography), but transform it into something functional and adherent to basic design standards. And in short order – this makeover (see Figure 2) needed to be done in the process of getting their web presence in order, not as a standalone, indulgent, months-long design project.

First, the font – I was in the early phases of an Avenir crush, and this seemed like the perfect application for it. Sleek, yet different enough to the eye to not be confused with JAH ("Just Another Helvetica")* logo. But I also sensed an oncoming wave of Avenir usage, so I wanted to find a way to set this instance apart from others. The result was Avenir Medium with slightly tightened tracking, in camel case (as it should have been to begin with), with stylized counters on the 'a's and 'd'.

* Author's note: I love Helvetica.

Next, the rectangles – a design challenge for sure. I stayed relatively true to the original configuration, but ditched the random opacity variations, gave the type some room to breathe, settled on a more sane distribution, and selected colors with Pantone™ equivalents.

As with most projects like this, one rarely has an idea of where the design will go once in place. In this case, boy, the places it went! MediaMath proceeded to grow to 700+ employees with 14 offices in 9 countries, with the logo adorning the walls and countless creative applications (see below). Like most logos, there is a shelf life, and I'm sure this one will be replaced in favor of something more representative of the company's present/future. Regardless, it was cool to see this one go for a meteoric ride.