Google speaks on favicon
Google has finally released a blog post discussing their recent change to their favicon, which I discussed earlier. Google explains:
“The reason is that we wanted to develop a set of icons that would scale better to some new platforms like the iPhone and other mobile devices. So the new favicon is one of those, but we’ve also developed a group of logo-based icons that all hang together as a unified set.”
A worthy reason, but I fail to see that the old icon wasn’t scalable. Here’s their complete set:
To me, this doesn’t look like a unified set at all, and I also question the need for a contrasting favicon for the mobile platform, surely this will cause greater confusion for customers, not less? Google’s blog post also shows a selection of other designs they explored.
Apparently however, this move by Google isn’t permanent:
“By no means is the one you’re seeing our favicon final; it was a first step to a more unified set of icons.”
This indicates to me that the change of favicon was premature. It’s good to know that we’re not stuck with this one, but I would have expected Google to be a bit more careful when messing around with their logo. Changing it around haphazardly will only serve to weaken their strong brand image and confuse consumers. Hopefully they find the right image soon and stick with it.
They’re also seeking user-submissions, so if you think you can design something good, submit it here!
