Google Logo Change Opinions: Among Designers, Logo Garners Tepid Applause
Google's new logo received mixed reviews following its release on Tuesday, and neither expert designers nor common users were shy to weigh in on the visual trademark's most significant changes since 1999, Inquisitr reported.
The world's largest search engine had explained the update of its well-known logo to a sleeker, sans-serif typeface by noting the devices customers use to access the website have changed dramatically over the last few years.
"Once upon a time, Google was one destination that you reached from one device: a desktop PC. These days, people interact with Google products across many different platforms, apps and devices," the company wrote in a blog post. "We've taken the Google logo and branding, which were originally built for a single desktop browser page, and updated them for a world of seamless computing across an endless number of devices and different kinds of inputs."
Graphic designer Milton Glaser told the Verge that he recognized the effort but that Google could have gone even further. "I would change the name to 'Goo,'" the inventor of the "I Love NY" logo noted. "It's immediately recognizable and fits the technical criteria of taking up less space and reducing the bandwidth needed."
Analyzing the detail of the new design, typeface expert Tobias Frere-Jones, meanwhile, praised the "friendly and approachable impression" Google creates with its curvy approach. But the emphasis on circles "makes the 'l' stand out a bit awkwardly, being the only entirely straight shape."
"They did well to retain this distinctive sequence of colors - they were the only way I could 'glance' this as being Google," Frere-Jones commented. "I don't think this redesign speaks to any larger trend, because clean simplicity will always succeed, even if it doesn't excite."
Creative Review's Mark Sinclair was satisfied with the update, as well, but some of his readers seemed to disagree. "It looks like a logo for a company that makes toddlers' toys," commentator Barry remarked. "The new look is ugly, childish and lacking in personality," Fleisch agreed.
Whatever you think about the new logo, things could not have gotten much worse, the leading Brand New blog argued. "The serif Google logo we've gotten used to seeing since 1999 (was) old-looking, disproportionate piece of typography that no designer would think of using in a logo pitch to a client," the website judged.
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