After a decade, Google looks to be changing its iconic ‘G’ logo

It’s been nearly a decade since Google last tweaked its iconic ‘G’ logo, but a new, more vibrant version is beginning to roll out. This new, updated expression sees the familiar four-color ‘G’ transition from distinct, solid color blocks to a smoother, gradient-style design. And I’m kinda digging it.

Back on September 1, 2015, Google undertook a significant brand refresh, most notably updating its full “Google” logotype to the custom-designed, modern typeface we now know as Product Sans. As part of that overhaul, the accompanying ‘G’ icon also transformed. The previous lowercase white ‘g’ set against a blue background was retired in favor of the circular, four-color uppercase ‘G’ that has been a staple for the past ten years.

The latest iteration of the ‘G’ icon sheds the clearly separated color sections, and now the red bleeds into the yellow, into green, and lastly into blue. The overall effect is a more dynamic and colorful appearance that aligns visually a bit more with the gradient aesthetic seen in Google’s Gemini branding, along with the shortcut for AI Mode in Search.

For the time being, this updated ‘G’ icon has only shown up in the Google Search app for iOS, via an update that landed yesterday. I’d expect to see it start changing across the board soon.

For now, it doesn’t appear that Google is altering its primary “Google” logo, and it remains unclear whether this design refresh will extend to any of Google’s other app icons. After recent years have seen a similar 4-color change to many of Google’s core apps, there’s a chance we could see all of those changed over to gradients as well. Time will tell.

Comparing the old and new versions, the change is certainly noticeable when viewed side-by-side. However, in everyday use, it’s a subtle shift that many might not immediately pick up on, particularly if their primary interaction with the icon is as a small app icon on their homescreen. The difference will likely be even less discernible when rendered as a tiny browser favicon. As it begins to show up in more places, we’ll see how Google chooses to deal with their other branding in response to this change.

VIA: 9to5 Google