Rebranding Rogue Amoeba
Posted By Paul Kafasis on August 5th, 2016
We don’t have a new product or major software update to announce, but it’s an exciting day nonetheless. That’s because our website has just been overhauled for the first time in many years. We hope you’ll have a look!
Our last major update occurred way back in 2008, when we worked with Dan Cederholm on a design that has served us well for many years. That site grew and evolved as our company did, but now the time has come to modernize. Our designer Neale began that process earlier this year, when he introduced our new style of product page, one which aims to reduce clutter while still providing all the information customers might want.
Today, we’ve updated the frame of our site as well. You’ll generally find everything in the same place, but the site is brighter overall, and should be a bit easier to navigate. The new frame also includes a new company “identity”, which means a new look and a new logo. You can see the entire new site at rogueamoeba.com, and read on if you’re interested to learn more.
A Farewell to Arms
Our company has a strange name, and we extended that eccentricity to our original logo/mascot, Ammo. When creating Ammo back in 2002, we sought to marry the brashness of Rambo (“rogue”) with the silliness of a Gary Larson-style drawing (“amoeba”)1. Ammo served as a fun part of our visual identity, and an attention-grabbing one at that. Ultimately, we didn’t think too much about him after his initial creation.
Ammo the Amoeba
Over the years, however, we occasionally heard from folks expressing their distaste for our gun-wielding little mascot. Because these emails were quite rare, we made note of the feedback but kept our focus on continuing to improve our software itself. After all, a digital logo can’t do any direct harm. Physical guns exist in the real world, and disarming Ammo won’t change that.
However, over time the appeal of our cartoon logo has waned. As the list of gun tragedies has grown ever longer, our lighthearted riff has lost some of its humor value. Meanwhile, our products have matured into more professional markets, and we’ve wanted a more professional look to match. We decided that a new logo was in order, one with less firepower and more focus on audio.
The New Logo
When we founded Rogue Amoeba, we didn’t plan to focus on audio software, but that became our niche. Our new logo is intended to be a bit more professional, while also evoking some of that old time rock and roll.2
Neale went through many ideas to get to our final result. One of the goals was to evoke a moving, undulating microscopic creature, and inspiration came from several amazing images of amoebas (including this gorgeous picture). The overall shape was then simplified through countless rounds of sketches. Neale said “the hardest part was getting the essence of a wriggling mass of protoplasm to also feel orderly and composed”, and that’s just not a sentence you hear often.
In addition to its amoeboid shape, the logo also features a “nucleus”, seen in the stylized “O” in the word “Rogue”. That “nucleus” provides a nod to our specialization in audio software, with its subtle speaker shape. It’s a touch that not everyone will notice, but it’s a detail we’re happy is there.
While we’re sad to see Ammo retire, we wanted something more cohesive and clean for our site. We love the new logo, and think it will better defer to the actual content of our site, allowing visitors to focus more on our products. After all, that’s the real point of our website!
Get A Stuffed Amoeba While You Can
Our bristly little mascot is no longer front and center on our site, but he’ll likely continue to appear now and again in some form. In fact, you might just find him in your mailbox! We recently dug out a leftover box of the plush toys we created way back in 2005, and we figured our customers might like to get their hands on them. So, we’ll ship a free plush Ammo toy to the first 100 people who make a new software purchase and then request a plushy.
Coming Soon?
Just place an order through our store, then request your free plushy through this form. If you’ve been considering picking up one of our apps, today’s a great day to do it!
Closing
Our site has changed, but our commitment to great audio software remains the same. If you haven’t seen our latest work, be sure to check out the improvements found in version 3.3 of our audio recorder Audio Hijack, the new Bluetooth speaker support in Airfoil 5, and our newest app, audio router Loopback. We’ve got plenty more in the works, including further updates for MacOS 10.12 (Sierra), Chromecast support in Airfoil, and much more. As always, stay tuned to this blog to get the latest.
Footnotes:
Steve Hoge says:
August 5th, 2016 at 12:03 pmGood move! I have been wondering for years when the RA branding was going to “grow up”; I actually expected there would eventually be a corporate name change, but I guess there’s too much great brand equity there for the company to gamble on.
-Steve
Ruben Pedro says:
August 5th, 2016 at 12:41 pmHi
The nucleus seen in the stylized ‘O’ in the word Rogue suggested me a vinyl disk, not a speaker.
Ruben Pedro says:
August 5th, 2016 at 12:54 pmI already have Airfoil for Mac & Windows, Audio Hijack, Fission and Loopback. So, can I get a little Ammo? :)
Chris Ryan says:
August 5th, 2016 at 2:55 pmI found my Stuffed Amoeba last weekend. Last night I checked eBay to see if there’s any value.
My 5-Year-Old daughter thinks it’s weird because it has a gun. I like it because it reminds me of some cool software.
Paul says:
August 5th, 2016 at 5:23 pmAwesome redesign. Just love your products BTW. Flexible, powerful, and super stable for years and years. That’s saying a lot when I use Audio Hijack, Fission, and even Piezo regularly! Thank you RA.
Harald says:
August 5th, 2016 at 9:31 pmNothing wrong with the Amoeba. But you can express rogueishness without a gun. ?
Paul Kafasis says:
August 6th, 2016 at 11:16 amSteve Hoge: The strange name will stay, even as the branding matures.
Ruben Pedro: A vinyl record works too! As for owning so much of our software, well, I’d suggest filling out the form and we’ll take it from there 8).
Chris Ryan: I think the stuffed Ammo toys are a bit too rare to have developed an after-market. Hopefully he enjoys many more years in the home of an appreciative customer!
Paul: Thanks for the kind words – it’s always gratifying to here.
Harald: True enough. As mentioned, Ammo won’t be disappearing entirely. You can expect to see him pop up here and there in the future, likely sans weapon.
MinorityOpinion says:
August 6th, 2016 at 12:43 pmBad idea to fix a problem that isn’t a problem. Playfulness can be a virtue, and you folded to make a bunch of malcontents happy. Here’s the problem guys; they will never be happy, and now they’ll find some other reason to complain.
Plus, now you’ve made a political statement, which means I can draw conclusions, and now I choose not to purchase your products. Good luck with your future endeavors, I wish you luck, but I’ll not be a part of that future as a customer.
Dave Hill says:
August 6th, 2016 at 1:59 pmCaved to the PC crowd. What a shame. No Guts, No Customer!
Frank Petrie says:
August 6th, 2016 at 5:51 pmI remember the launch and interviewing you at Macworld all those years ago.
Seeing “Ammo” sent to ‘the farm’ makes me feel old. :(
Andy V says:
August 6th, 2016 at 6:54 pmThe old logo was alright, and it’s pretty dumb that anyone was upset about a cartoon gun. But the new logo is really nice and looks very professional, while still being fun. I bet the two clowns claiming they won’t buy anymore software now were never customers at all but if so, good riddance.
Paul Kafasis says:
August 6th, 2016 at 8:16 pmMinority Opinion, Dave Hill: I’m not sure what you read to conclude we “folded to make a bunch of malcontents happy” or “caved to the PC crowd”, but it certainly wasn’t this post. If you’re going to opt to not use our software because we changed our logo, well, we’re sorry to hear that. Ultimately, however, that will be your loss.
Frank Petrie: We’re all getting old. But as I always say, it beats the alternative.
Andy V: Thanks for the kind words on the logos, both new and old!
Randy says:
August 9th, 2016 at 12:54 amWhere’s the airfoil 5 update to support google cast?
Paul Kafasis says:
August 9th, 2016 at 11:30 amRandy: As noted in the closing of the post, it’s in the works!