Google launches new logo

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Google new logo
Google new logo unveiled on 1st September 2015.

Google new logo

Google new logo, unveiled on 1st September 2015, drops the san serif style of the earlier version

Google has launched a new logo for its core search services. The change smooths out some of the features in the letters that make up the well-known colorful logo spelling out its name. Google said the change was needed because people were now reaching Google on lots of mobile devices rather than just desktop computers.

The change comes after Google put its many divisions under an umbrella company called Alphabet.

It said that the logo, and its many variations, would work better on the many different-sized screens through which people used or encountered Google and its services. As well as the full logo of the company’s name, it also plans to use four dots in its signature blue, red, yellow and green colors and a single, multi-colored capital “G” to represent it.

One of the major reasons for this logo change is to make it look good on small screens. The new, simpler lettering is supposed to scale better to smaller sizes, making the wordmark more distinct and easier to read. It’s also supposed to be easier for Google to display on low-bandwidth connections: Google says that it has made a version of its logo that’s “only 305 bytes, compared to our existing logo at ~14,000 bytes.” Given that one of new Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s big goals is to bring the internet — and Google, of course — to areas of the globe that don’t already have it, that small difference is definitely going to be an important one.

Google announced the change on its official blog and illustrated what was different via a series of animated gifs. It said the revamped logo was “simple, uncluttered, colorful, friendly” and represented the best of Google.

Google logos
Google’s original 1998 logo changed several times before taking on a “flat” look in 2013

It also provided a much more detailed explanation of what drove it to change the logo. One key challenge for the designers, it said, was to refine “what makes us Googley”.

Google last updated its logo in September 2013.

Writing on Creative Review, Mark Sinclair said the shift was significant because before now Google had resisted doing the same as other tech companies many of which adopted a “simpler and often blander” look when they updated their official insignia.

By contrast, he said, Google had kept its “scrappier demeanor” but this latest update showed the company had indeed “smartened itself up”.

Sources: BBC, Google Blog, Creative Review & The Verge

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