New holding company, new logo design for Google
September 9th, 2015
I recently wrote about Alphabet, the new holding company that now owns Google and some of its subsidiaries. With this major change in structure, you could have predicted that Google itself would soon undergo a rebrand.
It happened.
As I opened up my internet browser on Monday, I noticed that the Google logo on my search engine home page looked a little different. At first I assumed it was a Doodle, another creative play on the original design to commemorate some significant event or another. I soon realized however, this is Google’s new look.
It’s actually the first time in several years that the Google logo has had a major redesign. The previous incarnation – the familiar multi-coloured serif letterwork, has had a few minor tweaks, but has essentially stayed more or less the same since 1999.
Google's logo between May 1999 and May 2010
A little less shadowing between 2010 and 2013.
Flatter colours between 2013 and 2015
The gradual removal of shaping and shading reflects the modern trend towards using Google services on small mobile screens rather than high resolution computer screens: flatter, less contoured font shapes are apparently easier to read.
Hence the recent Google logo redesign, which is even flatter than before, and has eliminated the serifs that get lost on small screens.
The font for the new logo is actually the same as that used for the Alphabet logo, with a slight modification on that cheekily angled ‘e’.
At first, I wasn’t sure about this new Google logo, but I think it’s grown on me. How about you?
About the Author:
Although her primary niche is in scientific writing and editing, freelance writer Lisa Martin is also a creative type with an eye for design. She regularly works alongside graphic designers and as such has a keen interest in the development of logos and branding.
