Snapfish is an online photo service, which was established in 1999 in the United States. The platform allows photo-sharing and also sells prints and home decoration items. The e-store has an international delivery service and is loved by professional and amateur photographers all over the globe.
Meaning and history
Snapfish, a prominent name in the digital photo printing industry, was founded in 1999 by Rajil Kapoor, Bala Parthasarathy, Suneet Wadhwa, and Shripati Acharya. This entrepreneurial team envisioned a platform that would redefine the way people store, share, and print their digital photos. Their journey began in San Francisco, California, marking the onset of a new era in digital photo services.
As the company evolved, it achieved several significant milestones. Snapfish quickly distinguished itself through its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing, making it a go-to choice for digital photo enthusiasts. The company expanded its offerings to include personalized photo products like albums, calendars, and mugs, appealing to a broader range of customers. In the early 2000s, Snapfish was recognized for its innovative approach to digital photo processing and its ability to seamlessly integrate with burgeoning social media platforms, which further amplified its reach and popularity.
Today, Snapfish holds a significant position in the digital photo printing world. It has undergone various changes in ownership and strategy, adapting to the fast-paced digital landscape. The company continues to offer high-quality photo products and services, maintaining its commitment to customer satisfaction. Its current position reflects both its adaptability to technological advances and its enduring dedication to preserving life’s precious moments through photography.
What is Snapfish?
Snapfish is a digital photo printing service, renowned for its user-friendly platform and diverse range of personalized photo products. It allows users to upload, store, and print photos, as well as create custom photo gifts like books, cards, and home décor.
1999 – 2011
The first logo presents a playful and vibrant design with the brand name “snapfish” in lowercase letters. The “snap” is in white font against a vivid lime green background, which exudes freshness and energy. The “fish” portion of the word transitions to a bright orange color, creating a striking contrast that captures attention. The “i” in “fish” is dotted with a stylized depiction of a fish, which is black with a prominent white eye, giving the impression of the fish being a camera lens, cleverly linking the idea of photography with the aquatic theme. Bubbles are ascending from the fish, enhancing the underwater imagery and reinforcing the brand’s connection to photography, as if to suggest capturing snapshots under the sea.
2011 – 2015
The second logo is more subdued in color but retains the playful essence of the brand. The word “snapfish” is written in lowercase letters, with “snap” in a soft blue and “fish” in a warm yellow, suggesting approachability and creativity. The fish icon at the end of the brand name remains consistent with the first logo, maintaining brand recognition. This time, the fish is in a silhouette style with the same prominent eye detail. Above the fish are three bubbles in varying shades of blue, symbolizing ideas of freshness, clarity, and creativity. The addition of “by hp” in a compact and modern font to the right signifies the brand’s association with Hewlett-Packard, adding a dimension of corporate backing and technological expertise to the image. This logo reflects a balance between playfulness and professionalism, indicating a service that is user-friendly yet backed by reliable technology.
2015 – Today
The visual identity of the online photo printing platform is stylish and modern. Its logo, composed of a recognizable emblem and a wordmark, looks fresh and has a young spirit.
The sea-blue and gray color palette of the Snapfish visual identity is a reflection of a progressive and contemporary company, which main features and creativity and imagination. The artsy essence of the business is fully represented by the logo.
The platform’s emblem depicts a stylized fish with a round eye, outlined with a thick white contour. The eye resembles a camera lens, showing the purpose of the online service.
The nameplate is located under the emblem but on the mobile app icon it is removed and the dark gray fish is the only element, placed on a sea-blue background.
The clean lines, minimalist shapes and intense color palette of the company’s visual identity create a timeless image, which reflects the progressive and innovative service, allowing people across the globe to print their photos on all the possible surfaces.
Font
The wordmark of the online service is executed in a clean and simple sans-serif typeface, which is very similar to Brandon Grotesque Medium, a font, designed by Hannes von Dohren in 2010. It features rounded shapes and distinct straight vertical bars of the letters, which are slightly elongated, making the inscription look more traditional.
The simplicity of the font puts the accent on the emblem, emphasizing creativity and artistic nature of the platform. It evokes a sense of professionalism and reliability, reflecting various possibilities of the service.
Review
Snapfish is a photo-hosting service, which allows its users to create prints of their photos on different surfaces — such as cups, t-shirts, canvas, and others. The company, established by HP in 2005, has become one of the world’s most popular photo-sharing and printing platform.
Besides simple gifts and souvenirs with your photos, you can order a photo on or buy a ready-made print from a wide company’s catalog.
The website serves customers across the globe and in the USA it works closely with such huge chains as Costco, so the users can pick up their orders from there.
There is also a perfectly designed mobile application which makes the photo-sharing and printing process easier. When you download the app, you get 100 free prints from the company so you will only have to pay for the delivery.