Aligning with Google’s more modern brand expression, Chrome, one of the most popular web browsers for mobile and desktop devices, is giving its logo a new look. Though subtle, the icon is being changed for the first time since 2014.
TO APPEAR SOON
Giving the first look, a designer for Google Chrome, Elvin Hu, tweeted: “Some of you might have noticed a new icon in Chrome’s Canary update. Yes! we’re refreshing Chrome’s brand icons for the first time in 8 years. The new icons will start to appear across your devices soon.” You can see the new icon if you use Chrome Canary. However, it will be launched for others over the next few months.
BLUE BALL LOOKS BIGGER
All shadows have been removed, giving the logo a simplified look. The big blue ball now looks bigger with brighter colors and different proportions. According to reports, the tech giant is in the process of modifying it further. “We created OS-specific customizations. We want the icons to feel recognizably Chrome, but also well crafted for each OS. For example, on Windows, the icons take on an obviously gradated look, appearing at home on Windows 10 and 11,” Hu said.
NOT THE SAME FOR EVERY SYSTEM
The new logo will look different on different systems. It will be more vibrant on ChromeOS, while it will have a small shadow on macOS. On Windows 10 and 11, the icon will have a more powerful gradient to match with other Windows icons. “On macOS, they look 3D. For Beta and Dev, we applied colorful ribbons to them. The ribbons include many details when viewed at large sizes, but transform into simple badges at small sizes, maintaining their legibility. The letter “B” and “D” representing “Beta” and “Dev” are manually hinted, so they look crisp even at a very small size,” Hu said.
MORE ACCESSIBLE
Hu tweeted, “We found that placing certain shades of green and red next to each other created an unpleasant color vibration, so we introduced a very subtle gradient to the main icon to mitigate that, making the icon more accessible.” “We simplified the main brand icon by removing the shadows, refining the proportions and brightening the colors, to align with Google’s more modern brand expression.”
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