For the first time since 2014, Google is changing Chrome’s icon, although barely enough to even call it new.
The updated design was shared by Chrome designer Elvin Hu on Twitter, along with an explanation about the minute changes.
Some of you might have noticed a new icon in Chrome’s Canary update today. 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. pic.twitter.com/aaaRRzFLI1
— Elvin 🌈 (@elvin_not_11) February 4, 2022
Firstly, the blue circle in the middle appears to have grown slightly, with the circling red, green and yellow colours having lost their shadows while gaining a brighter complexion.
According to Hu, “placing certain shades of green and red next to each other created an unpleasant colour vibration,” hence why the colour wheel now features a gradient rather than a solid colour block. Elvin further stated that the Chrome icon won’t look the same on all platforms. For example, the icon looks brighter on ChromeOS to match the rest of the system icons, whereas on macOS, the icon features subtle shadows with a white background that makes the Chrome logo pop, as seen in the image below:
The iOS Chrome Beta app will now feature a blueprint icon, whereas the regular Chrome app’s icon will feature updated proportions.
“We tailor Chrome’s experience to each OS, with features like Native Window Occlusion on Windows, day-one M1 support on macOS, Widgets on iOS/Android, and Material You on Android. We want our brand to convey the same level of care,” reads Hu’s tweet, explaining the reason behind subtle changes between each OS.
The tweet also states that Chrome Canary users should start seeing the new icon now, while the icon rolls out widely for all Chrome users in the coming months.
This is the fourth logo change for Chrome since its debut in 2008, and it’s evident that the company favours a simpler, flatter and modern aesthetic in comparison to the ‘in-your-face, cyborg-eye-looking’ three-dimensional logo that it started with.
Image credit: @elvin_not_11
Source: @elvin_not_11
