Google Retools Its Logo To Embrace ‘World Of Seamless Computing’

“Today we’re introducing a new logo and identity family that reflects this reality and shows you when the Google magic is working for you, even on the tiniest screens,” Google stated in a blog post. “As you’ll see, 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 (such as tap, type and talk).”

In addition to a new look for the logo and icon, there are elements that will show how Google is working. One of those elements is a mic that helps let users know they’re interacting with Google.
Don’t grow too attached to the new look. This isn’t the first time Google has changed things up, and the company readily admits it probably won’t be the last.

History

In 1998, Sergey Brin created a computerized version of the Google letters using the free graphics program GIMP. The typeface was changed and an exclamation mark was added, mimicking the Yahoo! logo. “There were a lot of different color iterations”, says Ruth Kedar, the graphic designer who developed the now-famous logo. “We ended up with the primary colors, but instead of having the pattern go in order, we put a secondary color on the L, which brought back the idea that Google doesn’t follow the rules.”

In 2010, the Google logo received its first major overhaul since May 31, 1999. The new logo was first previewed on November 8, 2009, and was officially launched on May 6, 2010. It utilises an identical typeface to the previous logo, but the “o” is distinctly more orange-colored in place of the previously more yellowish “o”, as well as a much more subtle shadow rendered in a different shading style. On September 19, 2013, Google introduced a new “flat” (two-dimensional) logo with a slightly altered color palette. On May 24, 2014 the Google logo was updated, the second ‘g’ has moved right one pixel and the ‘l’ has moved down and right one pixel.The old 2010 Google logo is still used on some pages, such as the Google Doodles page.

On September 1, 2015, Google introduced a “new logo and identity family” designed to work across multiple devices.^[

Initial logo from 1997 Original logo in Baskerville Bold, used from September to October 1998, with a different color combination from the one in use today. The logo from October 1998 to May 1999, differs from the previous version with an exclamation mark added to the end, an increased shadow, and a change in color. The color sequence is still used today, although with different hues. The company logo for ten years and eleven months was used between May 31, 1999 and May 5, 2010. The logo from May 6, 2010 to September 18, 2013, showing a reduced distance of the projected shadow and a change in the second “o” to a different yellow hue. The logo from September 19, 2013 to September 1, 2015, showing flattened lettering and the removal of shadows.