Indiegogo Rebrands After a Banner Year (Exclusive)

The new logo and site are intended to differentiate the crowdfunding site from rivals

Indiegogo has redesigned its website and logo as part of a broader rebranding effort by the popular crowdfunding site. The revamp, unveiled Tuesday, is intended to differentiate Indiegogo from its competitors, Kickstarter chief among them, in an increasingly crowded industry.

The new logo, a square, will feature an image of a new campaign every time a user refreshes the front page. While it would be foolish to read too much into this, Indiegogo executives said it reflects the company’s more democratic approach to funding. Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell founded Indiegogo to help their fellow entrepreneurs secure financing unavailable in the current financial system.

Also read: Indiegogo Founders on Their $40 Million Raise: ‘We Don’t Really Know How Big It Can Get’

While Kickstarter asks creatives to submit applications for a campaign, Indiegogo does not.

“We don’t believe there should be gatekeepers telling a person what their value is,” Shannon Swallow, Indiegogo’s head of marketing communications, told TheWrap. “Most other platforms and models are not predicated on the same belief.”

Swallow, a veteran marketing executive, joined Indiegogo a year ago to craft a stronger brand identity for the company. Like other crowdfunding, Indiegogo saw tremendous growth over the past year, and raised $40 million in venture capital money for its own expansion.

Also read: Can ‘Veronica Mars’ Convince Mainstream Hollywood to Embrace Crowdfunding?

Kickstarter recently noted it helped raise an average of $1.25 million a day in the first quarter of 2014 while Indiegogo has hosted campaigns for several prominent entertainment projects, including “Life Itself,” a documentary about late film critic Roger Ebert, and the latest season of “Video Game High School,” Freddie Wong’s  popular online video series.

Video is one of several popular categories that will be featured in new tiles on Indiegogo’s site to facilitate navigation. The site will also offer a new playbook and blog to help people fund their projects.

Also read: ‘Veronica Mars’ in Theaters, Here are 7 Other Celebrities Who Want Your Money for Their Projects

“We need to be really clear about what we offer as a platform as we’re growing around the world,” Swallow said. “If in a year customers really do look at us as a place to discover, whether new bands or new inventions, that’s an important part of our process and value. I don’t see that ever stopping.”

 

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