Before we built a product, we built our brand. Explore our story and read our guidelines for presenting Tatem.
Tatem (pronounced TATE-UM) is a single word that is always spelled using a capital “T.” Tatem is the name we use for both our company and product. When referring to specific sub-products or features from Tatem, please capitalize both words as proper nouns (e.g. “Tatem Mail” or “Tatem AI”). When referencing Tatem on social media, use #tatem.
When selecting a name for our brand, we considered three principles to help guide our selection. First, the name had to be two syllables. Second, the name had to be relatively meaningless to most people so that our brand could become the embodiment of the word. Third, the .com domain had to be available for less than $10,000. Rich Barton, the Co-Founder of Zillow, Expedia, and Glassdoor, initially developed this brand building framework.
While searching for names that fit our principles, we eventually stumbled upon the word Totem. We were trying to think of objects that represent something important and sacred. We loved that the base of a Totem Pole serves as the foundation for both the Totem itself, and for an entire community of people. Further, Totems are adopted as emblems and serve as a source of trust, which is exactly what we wanted for our business.
Not only was totem.com not available, it also already had a clearly defined meaning. However, tatem.com was available. And, it aligned with our guiding principles: the name (to most individuals) meant nothing, it was two syllables, it was available for $7,000 which was within our self-imposed budget, and to us, it felt special and memorable once said aloud. Within minutes, the domain had been purchased and Tatem was born.
The Tatem wordmark should be used in every instance where Tatem is referenced, space permitting.
When working with logo-only grids or layouts that do not provide adequate space, we suggest using the Tatem logo (mark). In these scenarios, it is a concise way to refer to Tatem. Use your best judgement as the Tatem wordmark is more easily recognizable.
While our name was inspired by what we wanted Tatem’s brand to become, our logo was inspired by how we wanted people to feel when using our products. We have always wanted our products to be delightful, beautiful, and fun; to feel human and natural; to be experienced and shared with others; and to evoke past adventures (both those in real life, and those in video games). As a result, we immediately were inspired by a campfire. A campfire is beautiful, fun, signifies nature, brings people together, and is a core part of many (if not most) adventures and journeys. If you look closely at our logo, the inspiration is quite clear.
Tatem uses a variety of colors in our brand materials and product. However, our core color palette is composed of blue and black. We use many variations of our core colors depending on the situation, but we have included the base shades below.
To read about our copywriting guidelines, check out our Writing page.
Please note that our name, brand imagery, and brand assets are protected by intellectual property laws. Do not alter our images or assets in any way, use our images or assets to develop your own images or assets, display them in your own product, business, or service, or combine our images or assets in any way.
