A Look at Google Historical Logos Over Time

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A smartphone displaying the Google homepage on a wooden surface, viewed from above.
Credit: pexels.com, A smartphone displaying the Google homepage on a wooden surface, viewed from above.

Google's logo has undergone several transformations since its inception in 1998. The first logo was designed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, and it featured a simple page layout with the words "Google" in a sans-serif font.

The first logo change occurred in 1999, when the company introduced a new logo with a colorful, bubble font. This design change was made to give the logo a more playful and approachable feel.

One notable aspect of Google's logo is its use of a distinctive color scheme. The original logo featured a blue, red, yellow, and green color scheme, which has been retained in various forms throughout the company's history.

Google's logo has also been adapted for different languages and regions. For example, the company introduced a Chinese version of the logo in 2006, which was designed to be more culturally relevant to Chinese users.

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History of Google Logos

The Google logo has undergone significant transformations over the years, yet it has always maintained a distinct identity that is instantly recognizable worldwide.

Credit: youtube.com, Google Earth historical logos

The first Google logo was designed in 1997 and featured the word "Google" in a simple serif font with colors green, yellow, red, and blue. This early logo reflected the company's playful and experimental nature.

The original logo was highly memorable and helped establish Google's brand identity, setting the stage for the iconic logo we know today.

1999 — 2013

In 1999, the Google logo underwent a significant redesign, introducing a 2D shape to its visual identity and a new typeface, the Catull BQ serif font, with elegant solid lines and sharp serifs.

The color palette from the 1998 logo remained untouched, but a three-dimensional version was added to the Google visual identity portfolio later in the same year.

A slight inclination of both letters "O" to the left was also introduced in the wordmark.

The 1999 redesign marked a significant shift in the Google logo's design, but the company's commitment to bright and consistent colors remained unchanged.

2015 Today

Credit: youtube.com, Google New 2015 Logo Introduction | Evolution and history of Google Logos

In 2015, the Google logo was redesigned again, and this time it's a bold sans-serif typeface called Product Sans.

The style and shape of the letters are now completely different, a departure from the previous design.

The only thing left untouched is the signature color scheme, which remains a distinctive part of the Google brand.

The new inscription features circle "O"s, ditching the signature inclination of the previous design.

The new icon created in 2015 is a bold letter "G", executed in the same style as the new logo, but drawn using all four colors - red, yellow, green, and blue.

Design Evolution

Google's design evolution is a fascinating story that spans over two decades. The company's logo has undergone several transformations, with each iteration showcasing a unique blend of simplicity, modernity, and playfulness.

The first notable change occurred in 1999, when Ruth Kedar introduced a 2D shape to the existing design, featuring the Catull BQ serif font and a minor inclination of both the letters "O" to the left. This design was the precursor to the iconic logo we know today.

Credit: youtube.com, Google Logo (Emblem) History and Evolution

The logo remained largely unchanged between 1999 and 2010, as Google focused on expanding its product offerings and prioritizing innovation in technology and user experience. However, subtle adjustments were made to the color palette and spacing between the letters to improve legibility and balance, especially on smaller screens.

In 2015, Google felt that its logo needed a brush-up, and expert designers created a new logo featuring a bold sans-serif typeface called Product Sans. The new design retained the multicolor pattern but replaced the inclined style of the letters "O" with two regular circles.

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Another Serif

The third serif Google logo marked a significant step forward in the company's visual identity. It simplified the typography and used a cleaner and more modern serif typeface compared to the earlier logos.

The exclamation mark was dropped, which was a notable change. The logo maintained the same color scheme of green, yellow, red, and blue, but the shades were slightly adjusted for a more balanced appearance.

The overall design was more legible and easier to recognize, making it more suitable for various applications, from websites to merchandise. This design tweak was a result of Google's focus on innovation and user experience rather than rebranding efforts.

2013–2015

Close-up of LinkedIn logo on smartphone with backlit keyboard in dark room.
Credit: pexels.com, Close-up of LinkedIn logo on smartphone with backlit keyboard in dark room.

In 2013, Google's logo underwent a redesign that made it more minimalist and strong. The flat logotype was brought back, and the color shades were refined again.

The redesign also made the serifs of the letters more distinct than in the previous versions. This change gave the logo a cleaner and more modern look.

The logo's new design helped Google's branding feel fresher and more modern. It's amazing how a simple change like this can make such a big impact on a company's image.

Ruth Kedar's Designs (1999–2010)

Ruth Kedar, a Stanford assistant professor, was introduced to Brin and Page by a mutual friend in 1999.

By 1999, Google was already a renowned Search Engine, trying to secure a position among the top 5 brands in the world.

Kedar created a few prototypes for a new logo design, giving a 2D shape to the existing design and the new Catull BQ serif font.

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Credit: youtube.com, Ruth Kedar: The Genius Behind Google's Iconic Logo

She experimented with different colors and two interlocking Os, but Brin and Page thought the crosshairs and magnifying glass design was too visually overwhelming.

Kedar made the letters pop up with bolder lines and shadowing in subsequent designs, creating a more youthful and energetic look.

The eighth design was the simplest of all, with a modern outlook and random colors to reemphasize Google's potential to go beyond just being a search engine.

The final design, used from 1999 to 2010, was one of the simplest yet most appealing of all, featuring a minor inclination of both the letters "O" to the left.

In May 2010, Google revised its logo, changing the color of the letter "o" from yellow to orange and eliminating the drop shadowing.

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2015 Brand New

In 2015, Google decided to give its logo a fresh new look. The redesign was a collaborative effort between expert designers from various cities, who gathered in New York for a week-long design session.

Samsung tablet on desk showing Google homepage, perfect for technology-related content.
Credit: pexels.com, Samsung tablet on desk showing Google homepage, perfect for technology-related content.

The new logo retained the multicolor pattern of its predecessor, but the style and shape of the letters were completely different. The former inclined style of the letters "O" was replaced with two regular circles.

Google's designers created multiple variations of the logo to be used across different platforms, including the rainbow "G" typically used on the brand's mobile apps. This change made it easier for designers to modify the design according to different broadcasting platforms, particularly mobile.

The new logo was designed to appear fresher, quirkier, and more relatable, with a bold sans-serif typeface called Product Sans. This typeface was created exclusively for Google and was chosen for its legibility, especially on small screens.

The new logo was unveiled on September 1, 2015, and it uses the same color palette as the one introduced in 1998, with brighter and more consistent hues.

Plus

The "Plus" logo, which is a fundamental element of Google Plus, shares a striking similarity with the uppercase "G" found in many other Google products, such as Google Search.

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Pinterest Logo on Smartphone
Credit: pexels.com, Pinterest Logo on Smartphone

Both the letter "G" and the plus sign in the Google Plus logo are in white, neatly placed inside a circle with a red background.

The combination of red and white colors in the Google Plus logo creates a dimensional look due to the shade effect.

Interestingly, the Google Plus logo bears a resemblance to the Red Cross logo, albeit with the colors swapped.

Play

The Google Play logo has been modified more than once since 2012. The triangular shape of the emblem has remained the same.

The icon introduced in April 2016 features brighter, saturated colors. This change gave the logo a more vibrant look.

The emblem acquired a flat look. This design shift likely aimed to make the logo more modern and visually appealing.

The Google Play logo has undergone significant changes over the years, but its core shape has remained consistent.

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Icon

The Google logo has undergone a significant transformation over the years. In 2015, the company introduced a bold and stable title case inscription in a modern geometric sans-serif typeface, with each letter drawn in one of the four corporate Google colors: blue, red, yellow, or green.

Credit: youtube.com, EVERY YEAR LOGOS GET SIMPLER! (Logo Design Evolution)

The iconic Google color palette is a deliberate design choice, representing the four main elements: air, earth, fire, and water. This palette also symbolizes the variety of Google services and their endless possibilities.

The Google logo is not just a wordmark, but a badge that represents a distortion of the word Googol, which means ten to the hundredth degree. This reflects the infinite performance of the new search engine.

In a surprising move, Google changed its logo to a plain grey color in September 2022, as a mark of respect for Britain's late Queen Elizabeth II. This change was temporary, and the company will return to its original color palette.

Color and Symbolism

The Google logo has undergone many changes over the years, but the color palette has remained largely the same.

The colors red and yellow were specifically chosen to convey Google's quirky and out-of-the-box thinking. The team wanted the logo to highlight the company's modern creativity and transformation, subtly but efficiently.

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Logo of Garoto Chocolate Manufacturer
Credit: pexels.com, Logo of Garoto Chocolate Manufacturer

Ruth Kedar, the person who originally chose the colors, initially wanted the logo to have all the primary colors to make it more relatable for people from any background. She wanted to give a secondary color to the "l" in the Google logo to convey the message that Google is always pushing new boundaries.

The logo's color code was chosen to highlight the company's quirky and out-of-the-box thinking, with red and yellow being the dominant colors.

Color Meanings

The Google logo is a masterclass in color symbolism, with a palette that's both playful and sophisticated. The logo's color code was chosen to highlight the company's quirky and out-of-the-box thinking.

Google's logo colors are a unique and integral part of the company's visual identity. The colors were chosen by Ruth Kedar, the person who originally designed the logo. She wanted the logo to be relatable for people from any background, so she considered using all the primary colors.

Google Spelled on Letter Cubes
Credit: pexels.com, Google Spelled on Letter Cubes

Red is a bold and attention-grabbing color that's used in the Google logo. The specific shade of red used is #db3236 RGB: 219, 50, 54. This color is meant to convey modern creativity and transformation.

The secondary color used in the Google logo is yellow, with the code #f4c20d RGB: 244, 194, 13. This color is used for the "l" in the Google logo and is meant to convey that Google is always pushing new boundaries.

White Emblems

Google's use of a clean, colorless logotype during emergencies or tragedies is a notable example of a "white" emblem. This design choice is a deliberate attempt to convey a sense of simplicity and neutrality.

In the past, Google's colorless logos had a 3D effect, but the existing version, including the 2013 version, is without it. This subtle change suggests a shift towards a more minimalist approach.

Google has used several "white" logos till date, and in every instance, the "white" logotype looks exactly as the regular one, with only a different color scheme.

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Symbol

Gray Device With Apple Logo on White Surface
Credit: pexels.com, Gray Device With Apple Logo on White Surface

The Google favicon has undergone several changes over the years. The earliest favicon was just an uppercase letter “G” in blue placed inside a square frame.

In 2008, Google replaced this with a lowercase “g” in light blue. This change was likely made to give the favicon a more modern look.

A couple of years later, a new multicolored palette was introduced, but it was short-lived. The 2012 favicon looked like the 2008 one with the colors inverted.

The current Google favicon, introduced in 2015, bears some resemblance to the 1993 logotype of the clothes brand Gymboree. This is because the first letter in the Gymboree wordmark had almost the same shape as the one used in the Google favicon.

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Early Years

The first Google logo was created in 1998, and it's a fascinating story. The logo was designed by either Page or Brin, the owners of Google, using a free image editor.

Credit: youtube.com, Google Logo Evolution

The original logo had an exclamation mark at the end, which was a nod to Yahoo!'s logo at the time - a common practice among tech companies back then.

The color palette used in the 1998 logo was retained, but with brighter and more consistent hues. This tetradic color palette created an optimistic and energetic feel that contributed to Google's success.

Maps

The Google Maps logo has undergone changes over the years. The wordmark includes the word “Google” looking exactly like the regular Google logo and the word “Maps” in grey.

The first letter of the name of the service is capitalized, which is a notable difference from the 2013 version. The favicon features a stylized map with two roads (a yellow and a white one) and three fields (blue, green, and grey).

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Backrub 1996

The first Google logo was called "BackRub" in 1996. It was named after the engine's main function of searching through the internet's backlinks.

Credit: youtube.com, Did You Know? Google Was Once Called ‘Backrub’!

The creators, Page and Brin, chose this name because of the engine's focus on backlinks. The logo itself was a hand rubbing a back, which may seem creepy at first.

The background was gray, and the logo was red, making the overall image look unsettling. Thankfully, they decided to change it.

The name "BackRub" was changed to "Google" in 1997. Google derives from the Latin term "googol", which translates to 10 to the 100th power.

This name was chosen because the search engine could quickly provide users with large quantities of results.

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The First

The first Google logo was called "BackRub" and featured a hand rubbing a back, which was later changed to "Google" in 1997.

The name "Google" comes from the Latin term "googol", which translates to 10 to the 100th power, and was chosen because the search engine could quickly provide users with large quantities of results.

BackRub was the first name given to the search engine, and it was named after the engine's main function of searching through the internet's "backlinks."

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A Company Logo on a Wall
Credit: pexels.com, A Company Logo on a Wall

The first Google logo was designed in 1997, featuring the word "Google" in a simple serif font with colors green, yellow, red, and blue.

The logo reflected the company's early days as a research project and emphasized its playful and experimental nature.

Google's original logo was highly memorable and helped establish the company's brand identity.

The first official logo was created in 1998, featuring a title case inscription with each letter drawn in red, green, blue, or yellow.

The wordmark was executed in a transitional serif typeface, Baskerville Bold, and a blue exclamation sign was added to the logo later that year.

The double Os in the Google logo are a distinctive feature that adds to the logo's visual appeal.

The actual first Google logo was designed in 1998, featuring a tetradic color palette with bright and consistent hues that create an optimistic and energetic feel.

The same color palette was used in the logo, except now the hues are brighter and more consistent, contributing to Google's remarkable success.

Typography and Fonts

Credit: youtube.com, LOGO HISTORY W #60 - Google Fonts

The Google logo has undergone a significant transformation over the years, and one of the key factors that has contributed to its timeless appeal is its typography.

The iconic "Google" typography has remained consistent while also evolving, giving the logo a clean, modern, and aesthetic look.

In 2015, Google transitioned from a serif-based font to a custom, geometric sans-serif font, making it appear modern, minimalistic, and clean.

This simplicity enhances the logo's readability and adaptability across different platforms, from small mobile screens to large displays like PCs and smart TVs.

Google's wordmark logo relies on its name, making it easier to recognize and remember, unlike logos that rely on icons or symbols.

The clean and consistent font treatment ensures clarity and instant recognition.

The custom, geometric sans-serif typeface called Product Sans was introduced in 2015, replacing the previous old style serif typeface Catull.

This new font is bolder, more legible, and pixel-friendly, making it suitable for all screen resolutions.

Credit: youtube.com, Designing Type Revivals

The consistent use of Product Sans font across the Google ecosystem, including the favicon, Google + logo, and Google Maps logo, makes the company readily memorable for its customers.

The Product Sans font has a bold and streamlined shape, making it pixel-friendly and legible on all sorts of devices.

Google's use of the same font colors in its branding materials helps make the company easily recognizable and memorable.

Conclusion

As we've seen, Google's logos have undergone significant changes over the years, but the core colors and playful spirit have remained central to its identity.

The major shift to a sans-serif font in 2015 reflects the company's maturity and adaptability to an increasingly mobile and digital world.

This enduring appeal can be attributed to the logo's simplicity, playfulness, and adaptability, which have allowed it to remain instantly recognizable despite all the changes.

Danny Orlandini

Writer

Danny Orlandini is a passionate writer, known for his engaging and thought-provoking blog posts. He has been writing for several years and has developed a unique voice that resonates with readers from all walks of life. Danny's love for words and storytelling is evident in every piece he creates.

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