Eight years after the last time, Google returns to update the Chrome browser icon pursuing a dual purpose: make it more in line with the modern expression of the brand and create a version of the logo optimized for each operating system (mobile and desktop).
To present these changes and illustrate the path followed by the Big G team to reach the final result was directly Elvin Hu: the designer of Google Chrome took the floor on Twitter to explain the stages and details of this renewal which, by his own admission, will be completed in the month of Marchin correspondence with the release of the version number 100 of Chrome (obviously in the stable channel, since Canary has already crossed the finish line).
As pointed out by the designer, the latest update of the Chrome icon dates back to 2014. The first appearance of the new version has already occurred with the most recent release of Google Chrome Canary and will soon be available for everyone.
The following image summarizes all evolutions of the Google browser icon and it is impossible not to dwell for a moment on the transition from the first three-dimensional logo of 2008 to the “flattened” one of 2011. Only three years later Big G had continued in the same direction by further modernizing the appearance of the logo and now, in 2022, we have the completion of that path under our eyes.
Elvin explains how Google decided to simplify the main icon of the brand by removing shadows, refining all proportions better and using brighter colors. These tweaks are aimed at aligning the icon to the “more modern expression of the Google brand“.
The designer goes on to reveal a small anecdote: the Mountain View team discovered that placing shades of green and red next to each other created a “unpleasant color vibration“, For this reason, to mitigate this effect, it was decided to introduce a very slight gradient in the main icon.
However, the most interesting part of this update of the Google Chrome logo is another: the designer talks about the creation of specific customizations for each operating system. Through this operation, Big G aims not only to make Chrome always recognizable, but also to better integrate the icon with the stylistic canons of each OS. First of all, the example of the changes made – greater use of the color gradient – to adapt the Chrome icon to Windows 10 And Windows 11.
We then move on to Chrome OSwhere brighter, gradient-free colors are certainly more in line with other system icons.
In the case of macOSthe Google Chrome team opted for a 3D design, also adding colored identification ribbons for the Beta and Dev versions. These ribbons contain much more detail in the case of larger icons, but transform into simpler badges with the initials “B” (Beta) and “D” (Dev) at a smaller size, so as to remain more legible and easier to distinguish .
Regarding iOSthe Mountain View house has decided to go further in terms of customization: for the Beta version of the application comes a completely new icon in style blueprintwhich winks at the apps of Apple dedicated to developers; the stable application icon is revisited with new aspect ratio on the tile.
Elvin also responds in advance to possible objections to the futility of all this commitment: the experience of using Google Chrome is adapted to all the OS on which it is present – examples of Native Window Occlusion on Windows are brought, of support since the first day for processors M1 from Appleof the iOS and Android Widgets and of the latter’s Material You -, for this reason also adapting the logo is an expression of coherence and attention to detail.
The designer also confirms that other solutions were considered, but then discarded because they would have made the icon less recognizable.
Looking to the future, the designer has already announced that in the coming months the new Chrome icon will start appearing in-app, on the web and beyond.
The new Google Chrome icon, as mentioned, is not yet present in the stable version of the app, however you can try to download that Canary using the following badge.
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