Hello Hightail (Goodbye YouSendIt)

Over the last year, there have been quite a few changes made to the popular file sending system, YouSendIt.  Today, CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced they’ve even changed their name.  Hello Hightail.  Goodbye YouSendIt.

The new Hightail brand is designed to better represent the full breadth of its current products, new services and its vision for the future.

“The launch of Hightail is more than simply a new name,” Brad said in a statement. “It signifies the beginning of a new company with new products and a new way of thinking.”

YouSendIt launched in 2004 and served as an easy-to-use interface for transferring files that were too big to email.   However, it has since embraced new services beyond just “sending” – evolving into a full-blown cloud storage offering, which they felt needed a new name and a full rebranding.

The new logo nameplate is simple and features a sans serif, all caps typeface that’s a bit like Open Sans Condensed–just really condensed.

The branding is simple and the color obviously chosen to differentiate from the blue and green of other cloud-based storage systems like Dropbox.  Of course, the Hightail light-red is a kissing cousin to Dropbox’s blue (see color analysis).  They are on opposite sides of the spectrum, but still complimentary.

Their new website isn’t quite done, but they do have a brand new blog.  Powered by WordPress (a favorite CMS of mine), the blog is super easy-to-read.  I’m a little disappointed they didn’t build it on a responsive framework.  It’s look and feel are almost too simple and it features just the one post from today. To me, that’s like launching a blog with only the “Hello World” post on it–not that that doesn’t happen ALL the time. ;)

“With a name that strides like a giant across a landscape of Boxes, Syncs and Shares alongside an audaciously elegant look that contrasts with the endless dreary blues of the cloud space, Hightail leads by example.”

Explains Brad on that very lonely post.

Overall, I applaud the new Hightail brand.  I’m a little sorry to see that familiar green and blue paper airplane go, but the new brand adds a level of modern professionalism the old could never achieve.