TikTok launched in 2017 as a short-form video app. By 2025, the platform had grown into something much bigger: short-form, long-form, LIVE, e-commerce, local services, and so much more all under one roof. The brand needed to catch up to the platform it had become; a place where one spark in the algorithm can lead the user to worlds unexpected. This was TikTok's first major brand refresh since its original identity established in 2021.

I led design direction and oversight of the agency partner, DixonBaxi, throughout the refresh. From crafting the brief, to leading creative decisions, pressure testing every element of the system, synthesizing feedback from teams across the business, and then translating it into clear direction the agency could act on. Every step of the way required due diligence in making sure the resulting guidelines actually worked for the people who'd use them: internal teams and external agencies of every skill level, across every region of the globe TikTok operates in. Final sign-off went through senior leadership, up to and including the CEO.

The refresh started at the core of the identity and rebuilt outward:

• Logo & wordmark: Reconstructed using TikTok's custom typeface, TikTok Sans, with the iconic "Note" refined to pixel-perfection
• The Spark: A new ownable shape and expansive "portal" motif inspired by the Note's silhouette, designed to extend the identity into new contexts the original brand never had to cover
• Color palette: Adjusted for accessibility and consistency across every application from print to digital
• Typography: Flexible type guidelines built to represent every mood, from playful to polished, across the range of content the platform now hosts
• Motion system: Bringing the energy of discovery through the algorithm to life, so the brand moves the way the platform feels to use