Facebook's logo change on June 30 didn't make too many waves because the changes are so subtle that barely anyone noticed.
The wordmark, the logo with the full facebook word, got a do-over for the first time since 2005 but the only noticeable change is a different type of 'a' character. The Klavika font two-story 'a' has been replaced with a custom-made font featuring a friendlier one-story version of the letter.
The iconic 'f' logo, which is seen more regularly, particularly on the Facebook mobile app remains unchanged. This more prominent logo was last updated in 2013.
"When Facebook's logo was first created in 2005, the company was just getting started and we wanted the logo to feel grown up and to be taken seriously," Josh Higgins, Facebook's creative director, told Brand New. "Now that we are established, we set out to modernize the logo to make it feel more friendly and approachable."
Christophe Tauziet, a product manager at Facebook, revealed the change on June 30 when he tweeted a picture of the new logo on what looks like a rolled up T-shirt.
Say hello to the new Facebook logo pic.twitter.com/ofoFm4JQmK
— Christophe Tauziet (@ChrisTauziet) June 30, 2015
Apart from the new 'a' character the new typeface is a little more curved but the changes are so minimal even seeing the two logos alongside each other, it's difficult to notice the changes. The new wordmark is a collaboration between Facebook's in-house design team and Eric Olson of Process Type Foundry, the designer of the Klavika font used in the old logo.
The new logo isn't on Facebook's website yet, but the company has already updated signs on its Menlo Park campus with the new wordmark.
No doubt a huge amount of time, effort and money went into the redesign but the change is so subtle you have to wonder why they bothered? Maybe the plan was for people not to really notice.
Photo: Christophe Tauziat | Twitter
