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The New Airbnb

airbnb.com

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Re: The New Airbnb

#41

Post by mbreese »

gkop wrote: post #31

Frankly I did not see this coming [0], I always figured Airbnb would aim to be a universal marketplace, rather than carving out a niche in "authentic", "unique", "truly amazing experiences". Anyhow, I read "belonging" as a coded word for "community", and wonder how Airbnb thinks they are going to culture their own community... Maybe they will make a strategic acquisition? Lonely Planet, for example. Or maybe they wil…

Well, unique and amazing experiences will probably cause them fewer legal issues for Airbnb over the long-term. As opposed to being a universal marketplace where people aren't necessarily abiding by their own leases.

Re: The New Airbnb

#42

Post by bellerocky »

ollerac wrote: post #37
knowtheory wrote: post #22

Well, this should go down in the annals of logos which should have gotten some wider impressions before launching. Since nobody else on HN has mentioned it, all of twitter thinks the new logo looks like a vagina. It's hard to unsee.

What's wrong with a logo that looks like a vagina? Apple's logo looks like an apple, which isn't really related to their business.

While the shape of an Apple can make for a pretty benign and neutral corporate image it doesn't mean this is true for every shape.

Re: The New Airbnb

#43

Post by lttlrck »

minimaxir wrote: post #18
Nomlab wrote: post #17

The new logo looks like a spaceship ... they are preparing for selling trips into orbit.

If you've been following the commentary about the logo on Twitter, that is the exact opposite of what people immediately interpret as the symbol.

the exact opposite?

Re: The New Airbnb

#44

Post by 51Cards »

How much bandwidth does one need to be able pipe down a 22.9 Meg WebM video file with every home page impression? Oi. Looks beautiful though.

Re: The New Airbnb

#45

Post by psherman »

I'm not sure why so many people seem so intent on sexualizing a logo. I think that it's pretty clever to incorporate the location marker into the A.

Re: The New Airbnb

#46

Post by cal2 »

knowtheory wrote: post #22

Well, this should go down in the annals of logos which should have gotten some wider impressions before launching. Since nobody else on HN has mentioned it, all of twitter thinks the new logo looks like a vagina. It's hard to unsee.

I appear to be the only one who thinks it looks like an "A". The loop reminds me of something an airplane would do in the air. I can see the sexual resemblance, but only if I concentrate hard enough on it, then it just goes back to being an "A".

Re: The New Airbnb

#47

Post by ssmoot »

I clicked on the link and saw the "Welcome Home" message with a lady sleeping in the background.

A second or two later she moved and I realized I'm watching a short video of some lady sleeping. Which felt very creepy.

I just thought that was noteworthy since that's not a feeling that comes up all that often clicking on a link for a business's home page.

On the new logo:

I think it's surprisingly nice. The video introduction was good too. Except for a couple things:

1. The flashing font-color/background-color sequence bothered my eyes quite a bit. It's almost offensively intrusive? It seems like one of those "persistent vision" pictures/illusions. Except you don't expect it.

2. The "four things"... took a nice (if a bit cheesy) message, and really made it feel forced. It clued me into the intent that they want little Bélo stickers plastered in the corners of windows... but I feel like that sort of thing happens organically, or not. If you distribute free stickers to owners, with that suggestion on the back of the peel-away, I bet it's as effective. If you don't distribute them, then the video isn't going to make it happen anyways.

Just my 2c.

Re: The New Airbnb

#48

Post by minimaxir »

cal2 wrote: post #46
knowtheory wrote: post #22

Well, this should go down in the annals of logos which should have gotten some wider impressions before launching. Since nobody else on HN has mentioned it, all of twitter thinks the new logo looks like a vagina. It's hard to unsee.

I appear to be the only one who thinks it looks like an "A". The loop reminds me of something an air plane would do in the air . I can see the sexual resemblance, but only if I concentrate hard enough on it, then it just goes back to being an "A".

An effective logo should have zero ambiguity whatsoever.

Re: The New Airbnb

#49

Post by bellerocky »

untog wrote: post #34

For so long, people thought Airbnb was about renting houses. But really, we’re about home. You see, a house is just a space, but a home is where you belong. I hope they didn't pay very much for this, it's nauseating.

I certainly can't imagine Don Draper pitching something like this, it is pretty awful.

Re: The New Airbnb

#50

Post by gkop »

mbreese wrote: post #41
gkop wrote: post #31

Frankly I did not see this coming [0], I always figured Airbnb would aim to be a universal marketplace, rather than carving out a niche in "authentic", "unique", "truly amazing experiences". Anyhow, I read "belonging" as a coded word for "community", and wonder how Airbnb thinks they are going to culture their own community... Maybe they will make a strategic acquisition? Lonely Planet, for example. Or maybe they wil…

Well, unique and amazing experiences will probably cause them fewer legal issues for Airbnb over the long-term. As opposed to being a universal marketplace where people aren't necessarily abiding by their own leases.

A $10 billion dollar company ought to be able to work that stuff out.
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