Branding the heart of the modern web

NGINX and New Kind create a cohesive brand platform to solidify NGINX as a leader in the architecture of the modern web—and strengthen an active open source community of developers and IT professionals.

Background

NGINX is the world’s most popular web server and web proxy for high traffic websites—from Airbnb to Netflix to Uber. Its low resource consumption, high performance, and efficiency make it reliable enough to handle huge traffic spikes—while its software-based approach to load balancing and content caching gives developers the freedom to innovate without being constrained by heavy infrastructure.

Industries: Technology

Services: Identity System, Naming, Research, Storytelling

Why New Kind?

The New Kind team has the kind of strategic capability and ability to execute on it that is required to help build a leading technology brand.

Peter Guagenti

CMO, NGINX

Seeing possibilities

 

NGINX is growing fast. It currently powers 1 in 3 of the world’s busiest sites and apps. And users also have the option of purchasing NGINX Plus, a fully-supported, commercial version of the open source tool with even more comprehensive application delivery.

 

NGINX is continually evolving to meet the needs of the community it serves. Continuous growth makes it challenging for NGINX to maintain a cohesive brand experience across all platforms. So NGINX partners with New Kind. We work together to uphold a unified brand presence, preserving the relationship with the core NGINX community, while also allowing NGINX to keep expanding its reach in the broader enterprise market.

Choosing pathways

 

We work with the NGINX team to strengthen and clarify their core brand elements. Our projects include refreshing the logo and visual identity, helping evolve the company mission statement, defining product brand architecture, naming products, creating campaigns, and designing product logos, landing pages, and trade shows materials.  We also conduct yearly brand surveys to gauge the impact of our work together, and to gather insights from the NGINX community that influence product roadmaps and communication strategies.

Bringing the brand to life

Visual Identity

Designing an adaptable brand

 

One of the first projects we worked on together was refreshing the NGINX logo and creating brand standards as a guide for the future.

We strived to create a color palette and typographic style reflective of the NGINX brand: modern, simple, elegant, professional—yet reflective of their deep technical roots. From there we developed a flexible pattern, founded in the concept of connectivity.

Designing a Modules Logo

 

New Kind was also enlisted to design a logo for NGINX Plus Certified Modules, a newly available enhancement for NGINX Plus users. Modules adorned with this badge are certified to meet NGINX’s “strict requirements for compatibility with NGINX Plus.” Like a badge of honor, the icon needed to be visually tied to the NGINX parent brand, but also flexible to stand alongside a range of partner logos.

Designing a Product Portfolio

 

NGINX’s full suite of application architecture technologies necessitated the creation of a cohesive visual system to help align their products across the entire portfolio.

Iconography

Building new connections

 

Custom iconography is essential in consistently representing the NGINX story for new and existing users. So we created a comprehensive icon library with a style that supports the idea of an easy and simple integration experience. Our goal was to create an icon system that can easily be made into a narrative to help explain the process of how NGINX works.

Campaigns

Reinforcing value

 

NGINX Plus is the fully-supported, commercial version of the popular open source tool the brand has always offered. The product gives developers the freedom to innovate without being constrained by infrastructure. Working alongside the NGINX team, we designed campaign elements that powerfully reinforce the value of NGINX Plus, including a landing page, trade show materials, and a video.

Touch Points

Creating a cohesive brand experience

 

We’ve worked with NGINX to to create a cohesive brand experience across all touch points. We’ve designed and produced everything from data sheets, emails, and newsletters to case studies, landing pages, trade show booths, and swag. In preparation for new feature launches we’ve created e-book covers, company presentations, and trade show booths. Each piece helps to expand the brand experience across new media.

The road ahead

 

NGINX and New Kind continued to work together to engage the loyal NGINX community of developers. This work led to new discoveries, helping to shape a modern and dynamic brand. The company was successfully acquired in 2019 by F5 for $670mm. Their new parent has fostered and grown the brand under its umbrella—a testament to its enduring value.

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