Gretel gave MasterClass an underscore — and every instructor a visual identity

Build an identity for a roster from Frank Gehry to Serena Williams that feels cinematic and sophisticated, mirrors the elevated offering, and stays dynamic and 'built for further iteration'.

One underscore everywhere — the blank space the member completes — plus a unique logo, font and colourway for each instructor's class portfolio.

Gretel built a dynamic system around the underscore motif reinforced across the reimagined platform, and gave each instructor their own visual identity — logo, font and colourway — inside the comprehensive MasterClass branding.

No subscriber figures reported; CMO David Schriber framed the work as an evolution marking MasterClass's transition from product to household name.

MasterClass, the online learning platform launched in 2015 whose instructors range from Frank Gehry, Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese to Anna Wintour, Margaret Atwood, Annie Leibovitz, Serena Williams and Neil deGrasse Tyson, rolled out a new identity in 2020 created by New York branding studio Gretel. 'We came on board to help the brand and marketing mirror the elevated offering and motivate subscribers to see the potential and the value in a subscription,' said Gretel executive creative director Ryan Moore.

The system's signature is the underscore: a simple line reinforced throughout the reimagined platform that conveys white space 'up to the member to complete — a blank space to be filled, a new skill to be learned, the potential and possibility of today'. The identity aimed to reflect the platform's vibrant, bold instructors while channelling the cinematic and the sophisticated — a marked departure from the former brandmark.

The structural move suits a portfolio business: each instructor now has a unique visual identity — logo, font and colourway — bringing personal style into the MasterClass ecosystem while keeping individuality intact. MasterClass CMO David Schriber called it 'not about a new design, it's about an evolution... the brand's transition from product to household name has never been more apparent than in the past year. We wanted to create a contemporary identity connected to culture that each member and instructor could own along with us.'

The underscore literalises the product promise: an empty line the learner fills, on every screen of the platform.

A roster of a-list instructors needs identities as strong as the master brand — or their classes read as generic content.

Cinematic, sophisticated craft separates MasterClass's $180-a-year classes from commodity course marketplaces.

A dynamic system 'built for further iteration' lets new instructors onboard without redesigning the brand each time.

Portfolio brands can scale identity by modular systems: one brand-wide blank plus per-instructor identities lets both brand and stars own it.

The identity rolled out in October 2020 across the platform and marketing; PRINT's Brand of the Day feature reported no subscriber or revenue results.