In only a few years, Google has managed to achieve a lot in branding, something that would normally take other companies decades of work with millions of dollars worth of resources. Their colorful logo is now a staple of the online experience that’s enjoyed by millions across the globe. But behind the beautiful logo that’s now the trademark and benchmark for online search experience, there is a rich history. It has undergone lots of transformations though the concept has never moved away from the typeface logo we see today. Here is a brief explanation detailing how Google came to have their current logo.

The story begins in 1996 at Stanford University where one of the co-founders, Larry Page was fledgling a research project code-names “Back Rub”. The project was later renamed Google, following a misspelled version of the word Googol. The idea was to demonstrate that Google had far much processing powers than any other search engine during that time.

The first Google Logo was designed by Sergey Brin, a co-founder in 1998 using the Gimp Software. This marked the beginning of the several iterations that were to follow under the supervision of Ruth Kendar, a professional designer hired by Google to oversee the development of a logo that would connect with their audiences and also match their marketing needs.

By 1999, Google’s success was already dwarfing the competition, and the Google logo was becoming more and more popular. It was at this point that the company brought in Ruth Kendar, a professional designer to continue with evolving the brand. Back then, Kendar had no idea how big the company would be, but she was happy to take up on the task and continue with the evolution of the brand.

Kendar’s first attempt at redesigning the Google logo was done with the Adobe Garamond as the typeface. Kendar’s idea with this first attempt was not to meddle up with the text since it would have interfered with the eligibility of the logo. She simply added her whimsy using two-dimensional O’s and primary colors. She then used a small pattern to join the Os together as a symbol of infinite connection. This design was liked by Brin and Page.

The second attempt by Kendar on the Google Logo saw her focus her attention mainly on the Os in the middle of Google. She introduced a further hint on the infinite pattern as well as a target to symbolize the search engine’s accuracy in helping people find what they are looking for on the internet. Her reason for doing was that the founders wanted to pass a message to the competing search engines that Google was a reliable search provider, and most importantly, it had an algorithmic complexity but an easy to use application.

The next redesign of the Google logo saw a modification of the layout and the typeface. The designer decided to use overlapping circles and ITC Leawood and joined them with a cross hair to show that the business was intertwined and had a global presence. But Kendar thought that her new design was more like an Olympics logo and not that of a leading search engine. This made her thinking on how to change the logo to remain within the context of the business.

In the later version, Kendar came across Catull, the typeface that is now synonymous to the Google logo. This typeface gave the logo more corporate looks while at the same time appearing to be slightly playful in the sizing of the letters. Though this was a step towards the right the direction, the overall design appeared to be busy, and it was difficult to mark out the final meaning from the Google logo.

With the feedback from the previous design, which featured a magnifying glass and a crosshair Kendar simplified the redesign, eliminating the crosshair but keeping the magnifying glass and adding on it a smile – to reflect on the great user experience of the now world’s largest search engine.

Slowly, Kendar realized that she was on her way back to her very initial iteration, and once again reverted to the Leawood font. She introduced a touch of dimension as well as some shading to the top of the Google logo. The reason for this was to make the Google logo appear to be floating on top of the white layout. At this point, Kendar was advised to try more simplified approaches that will make the Google logo simpler while retaining its corporate look.

Finally, Kendar got the design right after playing around with the colors and never deviating from the typeface. She ended up using primary colors, but rather than having the colors go in order, she used a secondary color on L, to illustrate the idea that Google doesn’t have to follow the rules at all times. That is the current logo you see each time you use the giant search engine.

The Google logo has stood the test of time and is now an iconic mark that has helped the company realize the immense success they have had in the past few years.
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Google, the giant tech company, unveiled a few major majors in the company towards the end of 2015 and to accompany the changes was an update on their logo, hence, their image. The changes in the logo, however, are not so huge to warrant an entire rebrand, but they are significant enough to be noticed by any person with a keen eye for design.

The logo retained its original form of being the wood mark type but now with a sans-serif typeface. This has given it more modern looks. Additionally, it now appears more playful than before. The new look also uses softer color tones compared to the initial ones which appeared to be slightly rougher for the looks.

Why did Google update their logo?

For a big company like Google to decide to update its logo, there have to be strong and concrete reasons behind it. Logos are the brand drivers for such big organizations hence they are at the core of every undertaking by the company. Google has been around for decades now, and it has gone through a lot of changes.

The company no longer offer online search services alone but has branched and now has an interest in other industries as well. The way users interact with technology has also changed a lot since the company launched.

Presently, Google is running a huge collection of sites, services, and applications. The need to update the logo was thus driven by the fact that the company has evolved, and it is no longer what people used to know fifteen years ago. The logo has also been updated to accommodate the needs of the current browsing behaviors such as the use of mobile phones as well as other mobile devices in accessing the internet. So, what makes the new Google Logo special?

The first major change in 16 years

Big companies are known to rebrand each time they introduce a new product line or new services. This is done so that the new looks, including the logo, can reflect the changes happening in the company. However, this was not the case with Google, given that it has introduced a plethora of services in the last sixteen years without any significant update on the logo. It now manufactures wearable technologies, cars and also involved in global mapping amongst other things. But despites all these, the recent logo update was the major one in the last sixteen years. This is a show of some nerve and resilience in the brand as it was able to introduce new products and services without really affecting the image of the company.

The new logo is simplified

The new Google logo looks more modern and simpler compared to the previous ones. The logo is in fact as simple as ABC123 and it can be seen and even drawn by anyone. It is a perfect demonstration of minimalist design, one with less style but full of substance because it has managed to retain its distinctiveness and uniqueness in the industry.

Cross Platform Compatibility

The internet has evolved a lot in the last sixteen years. Back then, only desktop and laptops could be used to access the internet by the majority. But presently, the internet is virtually everywhere and so is Google. The new logo has been designed to be display on all the devices used in accessing the internet without any adjustments or changes.

With the old logo, however, Google had to adjust to make the logo visible in the mobile devices and what users saw in the mobile devices was slightly different from what was seen on the desktop devices. However, the new Google logo is now compatible across all the devices, and the users will be treated to the same logo irrespective of what they are using to access the internet.

New Levels in Material Design

Google has been raising the bar with its focus on Material Design language, and this has been fully realized in the new Google logo. What you see in the new logo is nothing special but a flat and a six character logo with simple strokes. This is also evident in the company logos for other products such as Maps, News, Translate, and Google Plus. A closer look at the logos will reveal to you that they all have a white insignia at the top corners of the logo. This is material design in action.

The new Logo is Bytes Less

The other special thing about the new Google logo is the fact that it is smaller regarding bytes compared to the previous one. The new logo is only 305 bytes instead of 14,000 bytes of the older one.

Though mobile bandwidth is measured in gigabytes and this might seem like a small change, not everyone in the world who uses Google services is not guaranteed to have the same data plan hence this is a new development for very many people. With this, the company can now reach more and more people and continue to enhance and grow their brand.

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