Periscope Logo PNG
The Periscope logo is not just a unique design but a real metaphor. It is an “eye” icon that looks into the device. This is the essence of this application, and the brand’s visual identity is manifested.
Periscope began in 2013, when American developer Kayvon Beykpour was in Istanbul during the Taksim Square protests. He followed the events on Twitter, but text updates did not reflect what was happening in real time. That experience led him to the idea of a mobile tool for real-time video broadcasting.
Beykpour turned to Joe Bernstein, a childhood friend and business partner. They had previously founded Terriblyclever, acquired by Blackboard in 2009. In February 2014, they registered a new company under the working name Bounty, later renamed Periscope, referring to a device that lets people see where they cannot physically be.
In April 2014, the startup raised $1.5 million from Founder Collective, Maveron, Google Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and angel investors, including Adobe executive Scott Belsky. The team opened an office in San Francisco and built iOS and Android apps focused on low-latency video, live comments, and “hearts.” Competition intensified after Meerkat gained attention at SXSW in early 2015, and Twitter bought Periscope before its public launch for an estimated $75-$100 million.
Periscope launched publicly on March 26, 2015. Within four months, it passed 10 million registered accounts, with journalists, activists, sports groups, and the NFL using the service. In June 2018, Beykpour became Twitter’s head of consumer products, and Periscope’s updates slowed. Facebook Live changed the market, while Twitter absorbed Periscope’s features into its main app. The service closed on March 31, 2021. Beykpour left Twitter in 2022 and later founded Macroscope with Bernstein.
Meaning and History
Periscope is a development with a long history and a rather interesting development process. The developers’ plans for its creation were ripe back in 2013, but the application was launched a little later.
2013 – 2015
This period became a landmark for Kaivon Beikpur. In 2013, he went on a trip abroad. Once in Istanbul, he saw unprecedented protests erupt in the country. Dozens of people went to Taksim Square and tried to defend their point of view with loud appeals. The future developer wanted to see what was happening there, but could not find a video broadcast anywhere.
This situation prompted the idea of creating a streaming video application. The idea was brought to life in 2014. In February, Bakpour and his like-minded colleague, Joe Bernstein, founded a company called Bounty and began work on the utility.
In the process, the inventors decided on the design and name of the future program. They did not invent something complex and confusing. The application received a stylish and understandable logo in the form of an inverted drop. Inside it was an icon whose shape resembled a human eye. This design is explained very simply.
The application was created specifically to watch live video broadcasts. This was the decisive factor in choosing the design. The drop evoked associations with the device’s window (screen), and the inside was similar to the human eye. Complementing the overall picture is the corresponding name Periscope. Even an uninformed user could immediately understand what the application was intended for.
2015 – 2021
In March 2015, work on creating the utility was fully completed, after which it was successfully launched on the network. In May, a functional version for Android devices also appeared.
Periscope quickly gained a leading position and soon became the subject of increased attention from Twitter’s owners. In January 2015, they acquired the development, and in 2016, some of its functions were integrated into the social network application.
The changes also affected visual identification. The Periscope emblem was presented in several variations:
- an inverted drop in two colors (the blue “pupil” had the same color as the background, and the drop itself was made in white);
- inverted drop, made in 3 colors (the background was blue, the drop was white, and the inside was orange);
- an inverted drop with an inscription (the three-color version of the icon was located on a blue background, followed by an inscription in the form of a name);
- an inverted drop with a “pupil” of red color (the background and main colors remained the same);
Sometimes, even a black-and-white version of the design can be found in the vast network. But such an emblem rarely comes across. The main logo is an icon shaped like a drop with an element resembling a pupil. The color scheme includes three shades: red, white, and blue. This design is stylish and modern, and the concise design is associated with simplicity and ease of use.
Font and Colors
Earlier Periscope emblems included, in addition to the basic colors (white and blue), an orange tint. This coloring was associated with comfort, transparency, and reliability. But over time, the orange was replaced by a rich red. The overall concept only benefited from this, as the emblem sparkled with new colors and became more recognizable.
Sometimes an extended version is used to identify the application: a drop icon combined with the company’s name on a blue background. For the inscription, a simple, readable font was chosen that any user can read. It doesn’t have anything remarkable, but its soft, rounded letters fit perfectly into the overall design.
The combination of a rounded inscription, a blue background, and elements in red and white evokes only pleasant emotions. The same feeling is provided by the Periscope app, which lets you watch interesting and important events without leaving your home.