If you’ve visited Reddit before – the so-called front page of the internet – chances are you’ve seen its mascot numerous times. The mascot, which resembles an alien from outer space, is also used prominently in Reddit’s logo.
And the cute little alien actually has a name too! Reddit’s mascot and logo are called ‘Snoo’, and there’s actually a bit of story behind it.
Featured image source: Reddit
Let’s dive a little bit deeper into the history and meaning of Reddit’s alien mascot Snoo.
What is the Reddit logo mascot called?
The iconic and beloved Reddit mascot that you can see on the website and in the Reddit logo actually has a name: it listens to the name “Snoo”.
What does the Reddit mascot Snoo stand for?
If you take a look at the Reddit logo, you’ll see that Snoo – the alien mascot – is well-represented in the classic orange Reddit circle.
But who is Snoo, exactly? Luckily, Reddit gives plenty of information about its mascot on its official corporate website.
“Snoo, the Reddit mascot, is a genderless alien who represents discovery and understanding across communities,” Reddit says.
As you can see in the pictures, the funny alien has a bit of a funny oval head shape, a smiley face as well as an antenna on its head.
It works surprisingly well to give Reddit a little bit of character, and you immediately know that you’re looking at a Reddit logo when you see Snoo – definitely an effective and sublime logo.
According to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, the alien Snoo is also capable of space and time travel – that’s what the antenna is for.
What does Snoo mean on Reddit?
Yes, Snoo is a pretty cute name for an equally as cute alien, but there’s a little bit more extra meaning behind it.
If you pronounce it, “Snoo” is pretty much a shorter slang version of the phrase “what’s new“, something that you’ll see quite often on Reddit.
In fact, the early name of the Reddit mascot was “S’New”, which does sound a little bit alien, if you ask us. Over the years, they kept the pronunciation of the name but did change its spelling to the more approachable (and easier to write) Snoo.
Want to see what’s new on the internet or what kind of new stuff is going on in the world? Snoo will guide you throughout the website.
With the massive number of pageviews that Reddit is getting – Snoo might actually also be the most popular alien on Earth!
According to Reddit itself, Snoo’s mission and goals are actually fairly simple: to discover and explore humanity. Sounds a bit like Star Trek now, doesn’t it?
Who designed Snoo and how long has it been around?
Snoo has been around ever since the original version of Reddit launched all the way back in 2005!
As mentioned above, it was Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian who actually designed the mascot. He was sitting in a (boring) marketing class in college and decided to sketch a funny little alien.
Who knew that that sketch would turn out to be one of the most recognizable mascots of one of the largest sites on the internet?
Over the almost two decades that Snoo has been used, the funny little alien has most certainly become quite iconic.
“I doodled it while bored in marketing class. Not sure why it’s an alien. I just kind of like the idea of having a time-traveling alien mascot,” Alexis Ohanian once said.
What are the colors and typography of Snoo and the Reddit logo?
The General Snoo logo has a clearly distinctive white, black and orange color scheme, and still very much resembles a sketch drawing, paying hommage to its origins. In the Reddit logo, however, Snoo is a little bit more streamlined and turned into an icon, both figuratively and literally speaking.
The orange color of Reddit is spread throughout the entire website and has the hex code (#ff4500). The typography of the Reddit logo itself is defined by lowercase letters, a simple black color and it uses a font called VAG Rounded. You can even download this font for yourself if you want.
As previously mentioned, Snoo is actually genderless and always has been: this was also a deliberate decision. By not giving Snoo a gender (and keeping its style fairly simple), Snoo can actually be adjusted in recreated in numerous settings and outfits.
It is hugely customizable, which is also why there are a ton of Snoo variants available on the website.
Special subreddits for Snoo fans
Did you know that there’s a whole community to discuss all things about this cute alien?
Of course, it shouldn’t surprise you that their communities are organized in a couple of different subreddits.
Want to discuss everything you can think of about Snoo? Head over to /r/snoo to find everything you’re looking for. And if you’re done with that, head over to /r/Snoospotting where people actually post pictures of Snoo in the real world or pictures of things that resemble Reddit’s alien.
And if you want to get a little bit creative, the r/bizarrosnoo subreddit is a place for you. Fans can share their drawings or reimaginations of Snoo here, which don’t necessarily look like Reddit’s original design standards.
Are there different Snoo avatars for every subreddit?
In order to give subreddits a bit more identity and personality, a lot of the moderators decide to incorporate specific designs of Snoo on the subreddit’s page.
For example, this is the Snoo you can find on the /r/television subreddit:
Can you create your own Snoo avatar (snoovatar) on Reddit?
Of course, you can! That was one of the main goals when Reddit introduced Snoo – to be as broad and as accessible as possible to all of its users.
There’s even a /r/snoovatars subreddit where you can share your creations with other Redditors. Here’s an example of a Snoovatar that’s based on the professional wrestler Orange Cassidy:
Everybody can create their own Snoo version for their profile, which will be displayed in comments and posts. It definitely makes Reddit a little bit more fun and adds personalization options while still keeping Reddit an anonymous place.
When you’re a Reddit Premium user, you can get access to additional clothes, accessories, and styling options for your Snoo avatar. For example, you can get a “Onesies” pack as a Reddit Premium member. For a lot of members, this is the main reason why Reddit Premium is worth the asking price.
Summary
The absolutely adorable alien Reddit mascot in the logo has a name: Snoo. The mascot has been around since the beginning of Reddit and is not only prominently used in Reddit’s site identity, but users can also create their own Snoo avatars.
