Akamai, Inc.

Back in 1999, and 2000, Akamai Technologies developed solutions that optimized Web site performance, delivered broadcast-caliber streaming media, and provided interactive application services. In the months prior to their IPO, Akamai recognized a need for a redesign of their logo and website. The projects, which included the identity, the design and coding of an entire public website, and a splash page animation, proceeded with concurrent timeschedules.

The logo

The word Akamai is Hawaiian for intelligent, and cool, or savvy. Akamai chose the name because of their unique and intense company culture. However, being based in Boston, Massachusets, Akamai didn't want to be perceived as a "Hawaiian" company, and their original logo gave that perception. The wave motif for the logo mark was retained, but a strong solid sans serif typeface (Eurostyle Bold Oblique) was chosen to balance the logo mark and give it more of a corporate feel. The colors chosen represent the combination of "hot and cool together". Blue was a natural choice for the wave, Pantone #298 was chosen because it is light, bright, and electric. Pantone #165 was chosen for the orange because it is also light, bright, and hot. The brightness of the colors personify the young, smart, and talented nature of the Akamai employees.

The website

The billboard style homepage layout was chosen to highlight many different aspects of the company. Akamai's ground breaking news and network performance were equally important to different audiences. This billboard layout was also reflective of the style of Akamai's clients' sites, which included Yahoo, CNet, etc. As the site content was dynamically driven by an oracle database back-end, the navigation structure was designed with database integration in mind.

The splash screen

The splash animation for the website was designed to give the impression that all of the big sites on the web were now using Akamai technology.