Google's new favicon

TouchingVirus

Google have changed their favicon again, just about 4 hours ago now On the right is the old one (and probably my favourite), in the middle tab is the one they replaced that with in June 2008 and on the left is the new one.



Here's the story..

Back in June, we rolled out a new favicon — the small icon that greets you when you access Google on your URL bar or your bookmarks list — and we encouraged our users to submit their ideas for this important piece of Google branding. We were impressed by the volume of submissions we received, and today we are happy to introduce a new Google favicon inspired by those submissions by our users. While the final icon is a reinterpretation of one contest submission, it draws on design elements and ideas from many of them.

Google's new favicon

André Resende, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Campinas in Brazil, submitted the design that inspired our new favicon. His placement of a white 'g' on a color-blocked background was highly recognizable and attractive, while seeming to capture the essence of Google.

by André Resende

Although we changed the color layout slightly and moved the 'g' off center, his submission formed the basis for our new design.

Incorporating all four of Google's colors (red, yellow, green, and blue) into the four corners of the favicon was a theme we liked in many submissions. We also saw this idea in the designs submitted by Hadi Onur Demirsoy, Lucian E. Marin, and Yusuf Sevgen (pictured below).

by Hadi Onur Demirsoy
by Lucian E. Marin
by Yusuf Sevgen

We hope you like the new favicon, which nicely integrates all of our original criteria: distinctive in shape, noticeable, colorful, timeless, and scalable to other sizes.

While I'm sure we will update it again, we also hope our new favicon inspired by Andre is a warm, colorful beacon to Google on your browser tabs and bookmarks. A big thank you to Andre, Hadi, Lucian, and Yusuf, as well as all of the other people who helped us define our new look in a uniquely user-driven way!

Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Products & User Experience, and Micheal Lopez, Web Design Lead

I have to admit I think the original one sent by André is much better because the g is in the middle and is incredibly clear when comparing it to the one they made. Having the g off centre without a colour to separate it from the address bar/tab bar where it's displayed was a big mistake.

With all that said, I see nothing wrong with Lucian E. Marin's effort. Maybe the same thinking can apply to that one, which is extend the corner colours along the edges (1px wide) so that it actually creates a thin border, just like Google's first favicon. You might say that's like the first of the other efforts (Hadi Onur Demirsoy's) but I REALLY prefer the big G ...It's Google, not google ... It's even got a big G on their business cards ffs...

Goodshape

First I've seen of this new one actually.

I really like it. Better than their old 'G' and much better than the small 'g' they introduced in June.

I also prefer Google's version to André's. Brighter, more distinct, and I like it off-centre -- adds more character to the 'g'.

Good job.

Chardee MacDennis

i dont like it at all really - much prefer the big G!