The WordPress community has many things to celebrate this year, but none are more important than the WordPress 20th anniversary. To give the celebration its due, the Automattic Design team got together late last year to plan and begin a massive effort to support the celebrations. Our not-so-brief brief included designing the website, creating an array of social media assets, crafting 3D wallpapers, and imagining and producing some truly super swag. All of this work was grounded in a distinctive 20th anniversary logo, which was revealed in an animated video. Read on to delve into the remarkable work created by the collaborative efforts of the Automattic Design team.
20th Anniversary Logo
To establish a unique visual identity for WordPress’s 20th anniversary, the design team developed a distinctive logo that seamlessly blended our classic WordPress branding with uniquely celebratory elements. The logo serves as a visual anchor for banners, swag, and many other deliverables used on the website and appears throughout the celebration campaign in swag, banners, social media assets, and more.
First, we worked on the logo mark. We explored several directions that were refined to provide multiple options to choose from.
Zooming out, the design team embarked on a quest for meaning behind the logo, and to tell the platform’s background story.
After fine-tuning all the details, our design team finalized a set of three lockups, alongside 21 versions of the WordPress Anniversary logo that could be used by the community.
3D Logo Reveal Video
The design team then crafted a 3D logo reveal video, complete with original music by one of our designers. The logo reveal video was shared across social platforms, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of celebration, and a sense of grandeur appropriate for the occasion. The video went live on social, as well as in the WordCamp Europe Keynote as an official homage to the WordPress 20th Anniversary date, May 27, 2023.
Additionally, the team produced 3D wallpapers, both static and animated for desktop, and mobile devices. You can download them here!
Website Design
Designating a hub for all the celebrations and activities taking place was key, so the team created the WP20 website. The design team focused on creating a site that would reflect WordPress’s evolution while highlighting the community that has helped to build it, grow it, and support it over two decades. The homepage of the site is a testament to the WordPress community, showcasing over 165 different celebratory events that have taken place around the world. Don’t forget to check out the #WP20 page for a look at all the celebratory social posts about the anniversary.
The more our community invests in itself and supports one another, the stronger WordPress and the open source software movement becomes. And WordPress benefits, not just the present community, but future generations of contributors, entrepreneurs, educators, and enterprises large and small alike.
Josepha Haden Chomphosy,
Celebrating 20 Years of WordPress
Social Media Assets
With a global community of users and contributors, it was important to provide a range of fun social media assets to use in the celebrations. We made posters, stickers, selfie props, and more. The designs are print-ready, and downloadable!
For use by our promotion and marketing teams, designers created a cohesive identity, including social media templates for all platforms, slides, banners, and covers for use on everything from playlists to online profiles.
Swag
No celebration would be complete without swag. This limited-edition collection includes apparel such as t-shirts, hoodies, and pennants, featuring the 20th anniversary logo. Additionally, commemorative pins, stickers, and other accessories are available from the WordPress Mercantile website.
Thanks to @jeffgolenski for those real swag photos.
Beyond
Cross-collaboration among our teams allowed us to expand our anniversary design to other projects within WordPress and provided an opportunity to synthesize multiple projects across the whole year to continue the celebrations. Projects include, WordPress 6.2 release, WordPress Milestones Book Volume 2, and social assets for other needs.
Full credits:
- Francisco Vera (@fcoveram), for the wonderful jazz illustrations
- Filipe Varela (@keoshi), for creating 3D assets and the stunning logo reveal video
- Eder Rengifo (@ederrengifo), for creating music for the logo reveal video
- Adam Wiltgen (@admwgn), for helping expand and animate the WP20 design for the WordPress 6.2 release
- Beatriz Fialho (@beafialho), for helping with initial design directions
- Henrique Iamarino (@henriqueiamarino), for helping with extending the WP20 branding to the WordPress Milestones book
- Monika Burman (@monikamonotype), and Jeffrey Zeldman (@apartness) for helping with this post
- Jeff Golenski (@jeffgolenski), for the swag photos
- Joen Asmussen (@joen) for design help, leadership, and all the sleepless nights
- Dan Soschin (@dansoschin) for helping with swag
- and everyone else who’s continually part of the WP20 design journey
Source: Twitter.
As we celebrate 20 years of WordPress, we recognize the immense impact it has had on the web and express our gratitude to the WordPress community. All this work is testament to the continued collaborative efforts of Automattic Design and the WordPress open source project. Cheers to WordPress, a platform that continues to empower and inspire millions around the globe.
Twenty years later, I am proud and humbled by what the community around WordPress has created, and jazzed about what we will create in the coming decades.
Matt Mullenweg, WP20 & Audrey Scholars
Have a story to tell about what WordPress has meant to you? Or a comment or question about these designs? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Automattic Design 
Comments
That’s a beautiful collection. Congrats Marko 👏👏 excellent work here.