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Okta used its annual conference, Oktane22 in San Francisco, to relaunch its brand in November 2022. The company announced a new brand purpose, to build a world where Identity belongs to you, and on the first day of the event unveiled a matching evolution of its look: a sharper logo, more vibrant colours and a reimagined Okta aura, which its own recap said showed up all over the Moscone Center.

The company's explanation rests on scale and ambition. A brand is a promise, Okta wrote, and as ambitions evolve the brand should too. The new purpose was described as an expansion of what Okta does and why. It built on three pillars it had defined: intentionally neutral, universally trusted and relentlessly committed, the first reflecting its pitch that customers can use any technology rather than being locked into one ecosystem.

The logo changes are deliberate but restrained. Okta explained that the letters of its wordmark now have a lighter weight and sharper edges, with a refined k, a new tail on the a and a more stable base for the t, giving it more clarity and focus. The aura, derived from the o and first introduced at Oktane 2015 as a symbol of being always on, gained facets representing layers of identity that are simplified, secure and in the user's control, drawing the eye to the centre. Abduzeedo, reviewing the work in 2023, called the faceted Aura the centrepiece of the system, noting that its spokes can carry images and animate into a layered effect, and singled out 3D, motion and warm portrait photography as what gives the identity depth and a human touch.

Okta said the evolved brand would roll out across its website, social channels, content and product in the following weeks, with new motion treatments and graphic systems applied to the aura.

This is a textbook evolution for a company that already owned its category. Keeping the wordmark and the circle protected years of equity; faceting the aura gave it a story about layered identity that fits the product almost too neatly. The purpose line is the weak link: Identity belongs to you is a fine sentiment for a consumer brand but slightly strange from a vendor that sells identity control to employers. The visual system, though, is one of the more elegant in enterprise security.