YouTube Standards, 2020-2024
Role
Sr. Visual Designer
Deliverables
Brand Design + Systems Design
Project Description
YouTube Standards was created to unify the brand across product and marketing. Formed by a multidisciplinary team of designers, animators, art directors, engineers, and project managers, YouTube Standards became the one stop shop for all things visual for the brand.
The team operated as an internal creative agency to define and evolve the brand. This included developing logos, typography, iconography, color system, imagery, motion design, UI/UX, and even interactive tools for spark inspiration to internal and external partners.
Process
The first step was establishing a unified design philosophy connecting product and marketing teams while staying true to YouTube’s mission. This foundation empowered the team to expand YouTube’s visual identity across all platforms, focusing on consistency, clarity, and purpose. We used the following guidelines as our north star for everything included within the guidelines: Human, Connected, Expressive, and Story-driven.
Each aspect of YouTube Standards required careful thought and consideration: Is this an evergreen part of the brand? Will it need to be refreshed yearly? What are rules that we can give that are flexible enough to work within a company like YouTube? The list goes on and on. Below are a few examples of specific elements that I developed.
Gradients quickly became a popular visual element to use throughout the design space. In order to ensure that gradients that we used were cohesive, we created diffused and image based gradients that pull from the color of the content they surround.
I designed and constructed guidelines for YouTube's new shape library that allowed for framing and supporting elements. The library consists of 300 shapes to be used throughout product and marketing.
I spearheaded the evolution of YouTube's logo system, ensuring adaptability across diverse platforms, from mobile to billboards. This included enhancing accessibility through graded font variations for optimal light and dark mode contrast. I also managed the creation of comprehensive asset libraries on Figma (over 10,000 logos!), delivering pixel-perfect digital files and scalable print versions. Collaborating closely with type designers, UX engineers, and marketing, I guaranteed consistent and seamless logo integration across all product and marketing touchpoints, maintaining YouTube’s iconic visual identity.
I developed a tool within YouTube's pattern system for designers to create their own patterns (and export to vector) using core elements that we also designed. This allowed for the patterns to have a wide range of style (scale, rotation, geometric, organic, textural) while still adhering to a consistent grid and shape library. The range of the tool is symbolic of the diversity of the YouTube user base, allowing for a flexible system in addition to adding a human touch and dynamic motion to the designs created.