When it comes to design trends, one of the most significant in the tech sector in recent years has been the increase in popularity of ‘flat’ design. Complex shapes have given way to simplified icons; over-the-top gradients have been toned down; and typography has become... arguably more generic in many cases.
Google has ticked all of these boxes in its latest design update for YouTube. While YouTube’s existing logo could never be hailed as an example of great design, its global presence and online ubiquity have made it familiar to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Nonetheless, Google is apparently in the process of changing its YouTube logo, having updated both its Facebook page and Twitter profile with its new brand design.
The new branding isn’t 100% ‘flat’; if you look very closely at the main logo, you’ll see just the merest hint of a drop-shadow in the ‘play’ symbol, as well as a very soft light-to-dark gradient in the red.
The app icon is much more gradient-rich, however; perhaps this is because a completely flat icon would look, well, flat against the more complex and colourful icons found on most Android and iOS homescreens. The typography, meanwhile, is Google’s corporate font, Roboto, which certainly lacks the chunky charm of the previous logo, but firmly establishes YouTube as part of the Google family.
Curiously, the new logos went up on Facebook and Twitter without announcement or fanfare, and YouTube.com retains the older logo, for now at least.
What do you think of the new YouTube logo? Let us know in the comments below, or share your thoughts on Twitter @NeowinFeed.
Source: YouTube Facebook / Twitter via Brand New | images via Brand New
57 Comments - Add comment