Growing the Y Combinator brand
Startup School was Y Combinator’s first major effort to share its knowledge beyond the companies accepted into its accelerator. The free online course aimed to lower the barrier to starting a company and reach founders around the world. Design 86 worked with YC in 2016 and 2017 to develop the Startup School identity and redesign its website.
The challenge was to create a distinct identity without creating another unrelated YC brand. We explored several directions based on the original YC logo, from flying arrows to interconnected groups of elements.
The strongest solution emerged from the letter Y. We developed it into a branching tree form. The tree extends the YC mark into a distinct identity for Startup School. It suggests a growing network of founders and the scale of the course.
We tested different densities and arrangements of the tree symbol. The final logo keeps the original YC orange and white. We used the logo’s cutouts and the growing Y pattern as graphic elements across the identity.
Design 86 redesigned the Startup School website. We also created graphics and templates for the course and related materials. The design gave a large online program a clear visual identity while keeping a strong connection to Y Combinator.
