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Goodnotes, the digital paper app launched in 2011 and named Apple's iPad App of the Year for 2022, unveiled a rebrand alongside Goodnotes 6, a release built around AI features such as handwriting spellcheck and maths assistance. The company said it worked with the strategic branding firm Motto on a refreshed brand strategy, visual identity and updated logo meant to present the joy and journey of digital note taking, and The Brand Identity, which covered the work, also credited the New York agency.

The guiding choice was evolution. Motto chief executive Sunny Bonnell described the project as heritage meets vision, with the task of sparking aha moments while preserving a legacy millions already love. Rather than start from scratch, The Brand Identity reported, the team evolved the system to keep the familiarity and trust behind the app's reputation. The wordmark was aligned with the symbol and kept legible while capturing the free spirit of handwritten notes, with curves meant to feel joyful and playful.

The details reinforce the idea. Motto chose Displaay's Roobert as the brand typeface; creative director Nathan Holloway said its geometric build suits the loops of the system, while its quirks echo freehand writing. Colour followed the same evolutionary rule: the familiar signature teal leads, and a secondary palette borrows from a new box of crayons. Motto also wrote the lead line, Feed Your Mind, which Holloway framed as being about fuelling human progress rather than just taking notes.

The product redesign ran in parallel. Goodnotes' own designers wrote that their direction was evolution, not revolution, aiming to feel familiar to existing users while drawing in a younger audience. They tested concepts with users and non users and found compact, playful icons were a hit while realistic tool drawings distracted. The app was also arriving on Android and Windows, so a consistent look across platforms mattered.

This is a careful, likeable refresh for a product people use every day. The crayon palette is the best idea, a nod to the pleasure of stationery that a notes app should own. The teal keeps loyal users at home. The weak spot is the tagline, which is generic enough to sit on a cereal box. Overall, a brand that knew what not to change.