Cash App’s New Brand Guidelines Redefine Style Guides 

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Cash App’s bold move challenges outdated design manuals, proving that brand guidelines don’t have to be lifeless documents.

Key takeaways

• Cash App’s new brand portal makes design guidelines engaging.
• The site allows designers creative freedom with Cash Sans and iconography.
• Motion design is key to the brand’s identity and user interaction.
• The site follows a growing trend of breaking traditional style guide norms.

A fun take on brand guidelines

Boring brand manuals are everywhere, but occasionally, one stands out. Cash App’s latest brand guidelines offer a refreshing, interactive approach to design rules. 

Much like the Dropbox brand site that recently set new standards, Cash App has embraced a dynamic approach that ditches the dry PDF manuals in favor of an engaging digital experience.

Insane year for brand guidelines so far pic.twitter.com/t5AapVeIOL

— Hannah Ahn (@_hannahahn) February 25, 2025

Cash app’s design evolution

The brand hasn’t always been known for flawless design decisions. Its Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team rebrand was heavily criticized. 

However, this new brand portal is an entirely different story. Rarely does a style guide feel like a joy to navigate, but Cash App’s version makes exploration fun and intuitive.

Giving designers room to design

The site covers all essential branding elements, from precise color palettes to motion principles, yet it encourages creative flexibility. 

Designers can experiment with the brand’s custom typeface, especially with Cash Sans. The guidelines even promote non-literal iconography, urging designers to prioritize metaphor and charm over direct representation.

3D icons & motion bring the portal to life

Illustration takes center stage, with many 2D and 3D icons resembling video game collectibles. Motion is deeply integrated into the portal, allowing users to interact with floating, rotating icons on a dynamic grid. 

The motion style blending “bold confidence” with “playful levity” even hides a retro Easter egg—something sure to delight designers.

Excited to unveil my latest project with @indexstd & Cash App 🔥

➡️ https://t.co/tf1zttNTjr

I had the opportunity to develop 6 custom, draggable and scrollable navigation systems to showcase Cash App's visual assets and an infinite grid with physics-based interactions 🥵 pic.twitter.com/cQM5cmAEn0

— Quentin Hocdé (@QuentinHocde) February 25, 2025

Breaking the mold of traditional style guides

Cash App is following a rising trend of brands loosening the rules in their design approach. Instead of rigid regulations, the new guidelines lean towards innovation and creativity. 

By balancing structure and experimentation, the brand portal establishes a new standard for the appearance of style guides—and more importantly, for the experience they provide.

Subscribe to our global Design Journal and stay updated with the daily design news.