BlueskyCopied

Bluesky began as a project started by Twitter to build an open social protocol. Chief executive Jay Graber wrote that the name was originally a placeholder, which she kept when chosen to lead the project because it was memorable and suggested the Twitter bird freed from a closed platform into an open ecosystem. The underlying standard became the AT Protocol, and Bluesky the name of the first app built on it.

On 21 December 2023 Bluesky announced a new logo alongside a bigger product change: posts could now be viewed on the web without logging in, with an opt-out toggle for those who wanted friction. The Verge reported that the service was still invite-only at the time.

The new logo is a butterfly. The Verge noted the previous logo had been a blue sky with clouds. Graber explained that early users had organically been putting the butterfly emoji next to their names to signal their Bluesky handles, and the company liked it and adopted it as it spread. She framed it as a symbol of change and transformation, matching the mission of turning social media into something new, and tied it to the launch itself: like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, Bluesky was starting to open up. She also played with the open-network idea, suggesting that someone who preferred birds could build a 'BirdSky' on the same protocol and keep the same friends and posts. The Verge's reporter called the butterfly a big improvement on the generic blue sky and noted a launch animation that would feel familiar to fans of Twitter.

Few logos arrive with this much proof of concept.

TechCrunch tied the logo to a bigger opening up. Posts became readable through a link without logging in, though creating an account still needed an invite, and users could switch off logged-out visibility on the official website and app, with the warning that third party clients might ignore the setting. Graber told it that people had organically used the butterfly emoji to mark their handles, and that it spoke to the mission of transforming social media. Federation was promised for early the next year. A logo picked up from users' own habits is about as earned as identities get.

Users chose it before the company did, which is the strongest possible brief. The butterfly is soft and blue, close enough to Twitter's bird to signal where people came from and different enough to say they left. As a mark it is pleasant rather than distinctive, but as a story it is nearly perfect.