Patreon Old vs. New Logo: Evaluating the Redesign

What the old and new Patreon logos are

The essential answer is that “Patreon old vs. new logo” compares two generations of the same brand identity: an earlier system built around a geometric letter P, usually shown in a coral or red-orange, often locked up with a lowercase wordmark; and a later redesign that stepped away from that P-centric mark toward a new wordmark, a revised symbol, and a broader color role. The subject is the brand mark and its typical lockups, not a file type, a social avatar crop, or a license to reuse the artwork.

Scope matters. “Old” in most redesign talk points to the long-running geometric P identity rather than every historic variant from launch onward. “New” points to the subsequent brand system that replaced that P as the primary symbol. App icons, merch stamps, and in-product badges can crop or recolor either generation; those applications are derivatives, not separate logos. A vector file of either mark is still trademarked brand artwork. Availability of an SVG, EPS, or PDF does not grant permission to reuse it.

Observable differences in the marks

The earlier primary mark reads as a constructed P: a circular bowl joined to a vertical stem, with a large open counter. That construction is geometric rather than calligraphic. The stem is a straight, even bar; the bowl is a near-perfect circle, so the letter feels like two primitives snapped together. In typical lockups the symbol sat beside or above a lowercase “patreon” wordmark in a rounded sans serif, with the coral or red-orange filling the P and often carrying the color of the whole identity.

The redesigned identity changes three things at once: the symbol, the wordmark, and how color is used. The new wordmark is the more stable public cue: lettering is treated as a designed logotype rather than a generic companion to the old P, and it is commonly shown in a compact, all-caps setting rather than the earlier lowercase lockup. The symbol is no longer the coral geometric P as the default face of the brand. Color is no longer concentrated in a single orange-red P; the system can read as type-led and more neutral, with accent color used around the mark instead of as the mark itself.

Those are observable role changes. Exact outline geometry, point counts, stroke terminals, official hex or Pantone values, and the precise construction grid of either generation are not specified in the material supplied for this article, so they should be taken from current brand artwork rather than guessed from screenshots or filenames.

Side-by-side comparison

Aspect	Earlier geometric P identity	Redesigned identity
Primary symbol	Geometric P from a circular bowl and a vertical stem	Revised symbol; the coral P is no longer the default brand face
Wordmark	Lowercase companion set next to or below the P	Custom logotype, commonly all-caps, carrying more of the recognition load
Color role	Coral or red-orange as the identity color, concentrated in the P	Broader, less P-centric color use; type and layout can lead
Lockup logic	Symbol plus wordmark as a tight two-part unit	Wordmark-led system; symbol and type can separate more readily
Tone (interpretation)	Playful, platform-like, instantly “Patreon red”	More flexible and product-like; less dependent on one colored letter
Vector implication	Simple two-shape P is easy to reproduce but easy to draw incorrectly	New outlines and spacing must come from official artwork, not a rebuilt P

The table mixes documented structure with one clearly marked interpretation: tone. “Playful” and “product-like” are editorial readings of how the systems feel in use. They are not measured properties of the files.

What the redesign changes in practice

Recognition used to live in the colored P. If you saw a coral circle-and-stem on a creator page, merch table, or payment screen, you could name the platform before you read the word. The redesign shifts recognition onto lettering and layout. That is a practical change for anyone placing the logo: the old mark could survive a tiny icon crop because the P was the brand; the new system is weaker if you crop away the wordmark and keep only a fragment of the symbol.

For vector work, the old P tempts reconstruction. Designers often redraw it as a circle plus a rectangle, then call the result “the Patreon logo.” That is a common error. Even a geometrically simple mark has official proportions, corner treatments, optical alignment between stem and bowl, and clear-space rules. Rebuilding it from memory produces a lookalike, not the logo. The new artwork is harder to fake for the opposite reason: the wordmark’s letterspacing, weight, and custom forms are not a standard font, and the symbol’s outlines are not a public geometric recipe.

• Treat “old” and “new” as two complete identity systems, not two colorways of one P.
• Match the generation to the context: historical screenshots, archival press, and older creator assets use the geometric P; current product, press, and partnership use needs the redesigned lockup.
• Do not infer that a file is vector-official from an .svg or .eps filename, or that you may use the mark because you can download it.
• When both versions appear in one kit, keep them in separate artboards or files so a lockup from one generation is never mixed with type from the other.
• For reproduction, start from official master artwork. Screenshots, app icons, and social crops distort curves and color.

How to evaluate which version you are looking at

Start with the symbol. If the primary mark is a coral or red-orange P made of a round bowl and a straight stem, you are looking at the earlier identity. If the unit is led by an all-caps Patreon logotype and the old P is absent or secondary, you are looking at the redesigned system. Next check the wordmark: lowercase companion type points to the older lockup; a designed caps logotype points to the newer one. Then check color: a single orange-red filling the letter is the older habit; a more neutral or multi-color presentation is the newer habit.

If a file uses the old P with the new wordmark, or the new symbol recolored in the old coral as if nothing else changed, treat it as a hybrid or an unofficial mashup. Hybrids are common in unofficial icon packs and should not be used as brand-accurate assets.

Gaps in the public comparison

This guide identifies the two identity generations and the design roles that changed. It does not supply official construction drawings, exact launch dates, agency credits, trademark registration numbers, or licensed color values, because those were not in the source material. Optical measurements taken from raster screenshots are not a substitute for master vectors. Permission, usage territory, and whether a given lockup is still current should be confirmed against the brand’s own artwork and terms before any reproduction.

A practical next step is to collect one official lockup from each generation, place them on the same artboard at the same cap height, and compare symbol, wordmark, color, and clear space directly. That side-by-side reading will tell you which file you have, which system a layout belongs to, and whether a downloaded “vector logo” is the real mark or a reconstruction.