When I joined Google Cloud five years ago, the design guidelines were bare bones—clear space, typeface, and brand colors. It has been an honor to lead the effort to build a world-class, comprehensive design system, lovingly nicknamed 'Cloudstyle', from the ground up.
There was a need for an easy-to-use identity element that conveyed Google brand impression quickly. The Progress Bar takes our brand icon and rolls it out into a straight line, keeping the same color proportions and order.
Needing a way to visually communicate our AI offerings to our customers, we developed a gradient palette that stays true to who we are as a brand.
Brand shape language was pulled from the geometry of our icon and wordmark to give designers material to work with that is undeniably Google.
Illustration is a core part of the Google brand, but with Cloud’s B2B audience, we leveraged an editorial approach to come across as more intelligent and serious given the multi-million dollar nature of our deals.
An unique aspect of the Cloud brand, is the need for the system to flex for a range of skill levels. We created extensive guidelines and templates to ensure that our brand is consistent no matter who is using it.