Couchsurfing International

Wander Together Here

Creating a new brand identity for a platform connecting wanderlust travelers with local hosts for an immersive travel experience

Project
Couchsurfing Brand Identity

Medium
Identity

Role
Creative Direction
Identity Design
Graphic Design

Year
2012

Objective
Couchsurfing is an online destination for hospitality exchange and social networking. The site provides a platform for members to "couch surf" as informal guests in a host's home, host travelers, or join regional events. The leadership team asked me to create an identity that imparts the notion of global exploration, cultural exchange, and the human condition, spanning many cultures, languages, and continents.

Solution
With its heritage of sparking the imagination of adventurers and armature reminiscing of the letter 'C,' the form of a desktop globe was a natural choice for the logomark. Portraying it in a hand-drawn style brings a humanizing quality, capturing the essence of journaling and storytelling. The primary brand color, International Orange, was partly inspired because it is the paint color of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the headquarters for Couchsurfing.

Key influential selections from styleboard presentation

Design progression of the logomark

Brand Activation

Branded travel accessories: membership card, luggage tag, and passport protector