Both the Bumble logo and the name of the brand are heavily based on the bee theme. So, to gain some insight into the meaning of the logo, it is pivotal to understand the reasons that made the founders choose this name.
Bumble has been known as a pioneer in a female-focused dating app algorithm, where it is up to women to make the first move. While it may seem like a minor adjustment, in fact, this approach opens up a whole new world shifting the traditional power dynamics. On a more practical note, the algorithm helps to protect women from a stream of abusive messages that often comes together with unsolicited messages and that forces many of them to delete their accounts on dating apps.
In an interview to Esquire magazine, Whitney Wolfe Herd explained that she had been looking for the name for the project for quite a long time. She even used a Russian word generator to help her with the task. Then, one fine day, one of the board members came up with the name “Bumble.” The first reaction was a shock, but then it dawned on them that the word worked pretty well in the context.
First, they noticed the similarity between Bumble’s power model and the bee society, where there is a queen bee that is respected by the community. They also took into consideration that there is a collaboration, where the queen bee works together with other members.
When trying to see the meaning behind the name, users have mentioned other ideas. For instance, that the word “bumble,” which is associated with the buzzing, may also refer to the process of looking for the right person in the chaos and the happiness of eventually discovering something you’ve been searching for.
What is Bumble
Bumble is a social and dating app based on an algorithm, where only female users have a chance to send the first message to the matched male users.
Both the original Bumble logo and the following version were based on the beehive theme. You could see a large hexagon representing a cell of a honeycomb. The angles are slightly rounded. Inside the cell, there are six bars varying from shorter ones at the top and the bottom to longer ones at the middle. The implicit sexual message is an essential part of this design.
The emblem is paired with the wordmark in lowercase letters. The type looks soft and rounded.
The design was slightly simplified. The six bars were replaced by three bolder bars. The font also looks a tad different. The most notable alteration is surely the disappearance of the lower right curve in the “U” and “M.” However, if you take a closer look, you may also notice the updated “E,” which now is closer to the circle shape than before.
The palette perfectly fits the mood and promise of the app. The yellow color has always been associated with enthusiasm and youthfulness. More importantly in this case, though, it is the color of honey, which symbolically represents something many users want from a dating app.
The type on both the first versions of the logo is dominated by rounded, softened curves, features that have been traditionally associated with femininity.
One of the founders of the app is Whitney Wolfe Herd, who is also known as the co-founder of Tinder. She left Tinder following tensions with other executives and then sued the company for sexual discrimination. The case finished with a settlement of around $1 million in the fall of 2014. The scandal resulted in wide media exposure. During this period, Badoo founder and CEO Andrey Andreev (Andrey Ogadzhanyants) suggested that they create a dating app together, with 79% of the company being the property of Andreev and 20% being the property of Whitney Wolfe Herd.