Google’s New Logo, Why?

Google introduced a new logo on September 1st. The company writes in the official blog “Google has changed a lot over the past 17 years-from the range of our products to the evolution of their look and feel. And today we’re changing things up once again.”

Google has replaced the serif thin characters with new sans serif ones but still has the same four colors: red, blue, yellow and green. It is a new logo that is “simple, uncluttered, colorful, and friendly.”

Google introduced with the new logo the new typeface that was used to create it. They called it Product Sans. It is a full set of characters, numerals, punctuation, accent and alternate characters, fractions, symbols, and supports extended Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic.

Why Now?

Google stated that the old logo was originally built for a single desktop browser page, so it created the new one for a world of seamless computing across an endless number of devices.

Google says it is not just a new logo, it is a new identity family that helps you whenever and wherever you need it, whether it’s on your mobile phone, TV, watch, or even a desktop.

“Google is one of the world’s most innovative companies, so the previous serif wordmark was never really the right fit, particularly considering the young age of the business. Serif typefaces are generally more suited to traditional companies with a lot of history and heritage.” says graphic designer David Airey, author of Logo Design Love.

Logo Elements

Google Logotype

This is the main logo with the new typeface but in the same old color set.

Google Dots

A new animation dots lets you know when Google is working; they bounce when waiting and expecting your spoken direction or query, animate like an equalizer while you’re speaking, and rotate when searching for something for you.

Google G

This is the smaller compact version of the logo which is used as the Google icon on your browser’s title bar and in all small contexts. It is the G letter but in the four colors.

Google wasn’t the only tech company to update its logo this year. Some other companies made only minor changes to their logos and others dropped their names entirely. According to Business Insider, nine tech companies other than Google have changed their logos in the past nine months. Companies change their logos to align with the new technology advancement and Google is in the lead.