The Jetpack mobile app had a fairly simple splash screen, that is, the screen you see when you first open the app. This was fine when the app was first launched (mostly) as an experiment.

But, when I joined the team, Automattic was looking to refocus its efforts and present the Jetpack app as something different; Something new and exciting.

As I dove into the project, I found some in-progress work around the Jetpack brand. I took a few quick passes, but nothing really stood out.

After reaching out to a brand designer for some more inspiration, we found something that stuck out; A list of text to help explain what the app did, along with a fresh visual style to connect with the ongoing brand work for Jetpack. I dove in and explored a more cinematic entrance animation, along with how the screen would react to various languages.

I knew I wanted the splash screen to feel unique and special, so I went to work exploring a few ideas for adding some movement. Eventually I found myself working with an infinite list of scrolling prompts, and the idea of having it interact with the position of your device in realtime.

The new splash screen feels like a toy; Something you play with just because it’s cool to watch it react as you spin your phone around in your hand. It’s a small thing that most people will only see for a few seconds, but maybe a few people will spin it around a few times and think, “Hey, this Jetpack thing is kinda cool…”