Facebook's Little Red Book
Year First Appeared
2012
Creator
Ben Barry (editor, creative director, designer), Tim Belonax (primary designer), J Smith (copywriter)
Facebook's Little Red Book is an internal handbook created at Facebook in 2012 to articulate the company's mission, culture, and design philosophy. Distributed to new employees during onboarding, it became an iconic artifact of Silicon Valley startup culture.
Importance in Internet Culture
The Little Red Book codified Facebook's internal culture at a pivotal moment, just before its May 2012 IPO, and became widely circulated outside the company as a template for how tech startups articulate mission and values. Its design-forward approach to corporate culture influenced a generation of startup handbooks.
Interesting Fact
The book was never intended for public distribution. Copies leaked and were widely shared online, becoming one of the most discussed pieces of corporate culture documentation in Silicon Valley history.