What's behind the TikTok logo?

[Dimaeiya333]

Over the past seven years, TikTok has become one of the most popular apps among young generations around the world with over 1.051 billion users as of 2023. The app’s logo is an essential part of its brand identity and has contributed to TikTok’s success. But what makes the logo so meaningful and recognizable? Below, we’ll take a closer look at the history of the TikTok logo and discuss why a logo is so important to a brand’s identity.


Key points
The TikTok logo design is inspired by the electrifying atmosphere of a concert stage.
The TikTok logo features a 2D musical note with an electronic wave effect that stands out against the black background like the flashing lights at a concert.
A brand strategy and a meaningful logo are critical for businesses vice president software email database as they create recognition and differentiation , emotional connection, consistency, competitive advantage and long-term value.
History and development of the Tiktok icon logo
Before the short-video platform with background music became known and popularized internationally as TikTok, the Chinese company ByteDance launched the video app under the original name “A.me”, which was renamed Douyin (抖音) just three months later. In 2017, the Douyin app was already available outside China under the name TikTok. That same year, ByteDance acquired Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang’s “Musical.ly” , a similar short-video app based in Shanghai with a US branch in Santa Monica, California, and was thus able to expand TikTok’s reach to the United States .

Back in 2016, the now familiar logo was created by an unknown designer, and has remained unchanged since its launch and expansion, save for minor aesthetic tweaks. Since time immemorial, the TikTok badge has been black on a white background, or white on a black background, with cyan and fuchsia accents to create the illusion of movement. The author of the logo must have been a passionate fan of rock concerts, so it is assumed that he was inspired by the electrifying atmosphere of a concert stage.

The font used in the TikTok logo typeface was originally a simple sans serif with sharp corners. In 2018, the brand revamped the typeface and created the TikTok wordmark , which is still used today. This version of the wordmark is more aesthetically connected to the glyph, with a similar cyan and fuchsia effect on the “o.”

If you want to know more about short video platforms in China, read the Kolsquare blog: Douyin vs TikTok : What are the differences between the two Chinese platforms?

What does the black TikTok logo symbol mean?
As mentioned above, a live concert served as inspiration for the social network's now iconic logo. The excitement and anticipation of a band's live performance is expressed in the logo's black background.

The 2D musical eighth note on the TikTok logo represents the platform’s focus on music and art, while the electronic ripple effect, which stands out against the black background like flashing lights at a concert, represents the technological and innovative nature of the app. Overall, the designer wanted the TikTok logo to be distinctive and consistent with the user experience on the app.

Those who have read this article carefully also know that the original name of TikTok’s wordmark was “Douyin”, which translates to “shaking sound” or “shaking music” . This tremolo effect is again reflected in the logo, while the musical note can also be read as a lowercase “d” to recall the app’s old (romanized) name. In 2023, the TikTok badge has undoubtedly become one of the most recognizable and iconic logos in the social media world.