BY Armin

Big G Little g, What Begins with Favicon?

Not even a mysterious J.J. Abrams movie trailer can create this much speculation and bemusement. Last week, for no apparent reason whatsoever, Google changed its favicon from the uppercase “G” of its logo to its lowercase “g”. And the blogs have gone crazy. Which is probably the whole point of the change: Demonstrating how a minute change for the most ubiquitous web site can have enormous ripples. It’s like the ultimate chest thumping. They didn’t change the logo, they didn’t change the home page, they didn’t change the results page, they didn’t change the ooooooo’s. They just changed a sixteen-pixel square and created a stir. Now that’s branding.

DATE: Jun.02.2008CATEGORY: Technology 52 COMMENTS

john Hartwell’s comment is:

If blogs are have gone crazy over the change of a favicon, then I would submit that yes, that may demonstrate the power of branding, but more to the point, there are people out there who DESPERATELY need to get a life.

On Jun.02.2008 at 09:56 AM

Elizabeth’s comment is:

How funny!

I'm a new reader of Brand New, and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. Thanks!

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:13 AM

Phil A’s comment is:

Indeed, that is what I call successful branding.
I don't like it though, the Upper Case G was aligned so beautifully, I can't help but not like it :P

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:19 AM

Micek’s comment is:

When there are multiple tabs open, the newer favicon doesn't stand out as much as the original, making it slightly harder to find my google tab.

Its a minor annoyance to be sure, but in my mind that makes the new favicon less effective.

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:25 AM

Pedro’s comment is:

Judging by the title, someone has been reading too much Dr. Seuss. ;)

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:32 AM

Mondayne’s comment is:

I'm not really bringing much to the party but it doesn't seem to be any different on my computer. I'm running Firefox on a Mac in the UK.

And also; the hinting on the lowercase g makes like look like it's about to topple over to the right. While the cap G isn't very nice, at least it's balanced.

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:33 AM

aquariumdrinker’s comment is:

To be clear, it's "sixteen pixels squared". "Sixteen square pixels" is 240 square pixels too few. How can we trust your brand reporting when you display such a loose grasp on the powers of two?

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:34 AM

Eleventeen’s comment is:

Pedro’s comment is:

Judging by the title, someone has been reading too much Dr. Seuss. ;)

One g, two g, red g, blue g?

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:34 AM

Armin’s comment is:

> Judging by the title, someone has been reading too much Dr. Seuss. ;)

I have the perfect excuse: a 13-month-old girl!

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:38 AM

Armin’s comment is:

> How can we trust your brand reporting when you display such a loose grasp on the powers of two?

You can't! I'm a fraud.

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:52 AM

aquariumdrinker’s comment is:

And you would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for us pesky kids and those darn numbers!

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:58 AM

patrick’s comment is:

Mondayne - try to purge your internet cache.

On Jun.02.2008 at 11:02 AM

Jeff’s comment is:

H8 the lowercase!

On Jun.02.2008 at 11:28 AM

Garrettttttttt’s comment is:

I'm actually quite interested in the new direction. The new "g" seems less corporate– friendlier. I'm sure Google is trying new things to hide the fact that one day they'll rule the world. The idea is great, but the execution.... a little awkward.

On Jun.02.2008 at 11:41 AM

Mark’s comment is:

ooh, good grief....

*rolls eyes*

On Jun.02.2008 at 11:49 AM

orangetiki’s comment is:

I think it should be the lower case G. I'm a stickler for making all artwork uniform. It's the g from Google. It shouldn't be a different G.

But then again Google has a horrific logo. Just goes to show you code monkeys can't design.

On Jun.02.2008 at 11:52 AM

Jeff’s comment is:

> I think it should be the lower case G. I'm a stickler for making all artwork uniform. It's the g from Google. It shouldn't be a different G.

The lowercase g IS the g from Google -- it's the second one!

On Jun.02.2008 at 12:18 PM

Armin’s comment is:

> But then again Google has a horrific logo. Just goes to show you code monkeys can't design.

Ruth Kedar, a graphic designer, designed the logo. So, if anything, it just goes to show you that code monkeys can't pick.

On Jun.02.2008 at 12:31 PM

McNulty’s comment is:

Lowercase g looks academic. It looks unfinished, maybe it's a tad bit too blurry or lacks some strength, and that minor shade of grey at the bottom is strange, but the change overall is better. People just aren't used to it. Would anyone like the original favicon if we didn't know it was from Google?

On Jun.02.2008 at 01:00 PM

Derek’s comment is:

Maybe the freakout over the icon change isn't because "that's branding." Maybe it's because the change is a really bad idea, poorly executed, with zero communication.

That's not branding, that's just poking the nerds with sticks.

On Jun.02.2008 at 01:13 PM

Paul Lloyd Johnson’s comment is:

didn't notice, but oh yeah. pretty.

On Jun.02.2008 at 01:29 PM

Sam’s comment is:

I would have been happy if they kept the capital G but got rid of the box.

On Jun.02.2008 at 02:05 PM

Miguel’s comment is:

I believe it's about branding as much as it is about celebrity fanboy-ism. Geeks and designers need their version of Paris Hilton too! Like, oh my gawd, did you hear? Googles might be flirting with Yahooz! Android FTW!!!

On Jun.02.2008 at 02:07 PM

Cameron’s comment is:

I have always liked the redesigned Google logo done by Shepard Fairey. Google's logo has always seemed too clown-y to me.

On Jun.02.2008 at 02:59 PM

Shahzad Khan’s comment is:

Indeed, Google can make stirs even for the smallest things...after all thats what makes google, Google..

On Jun.02.2008 at 04:04 PM

Longbourne’s comment is:

What I find gratifying is that during the process, the logo kept getting simpler and more elegant. There were some shotgun-blast ideas early on and they synthesized them but moved on. It could simply be an innate conservatism on Google's part, a refusal to risk looking foolish or irrelevant, but I think I like the logo better now that I've seen part of the creation process.

On Jun.02.2008 at 04:20 PM

Perry’s comment is:

Reckon the Guardian's favicon 'g' is bolder and better.

On Jun.02.2008 at 05:09 PM

Nicholas Skyles’s comment is:

I think that the faveicon should be a sandwich.

A delicious sandwich.

On Jun.02.2008 at 06:48 PM

Mark’s comment is:

Reckon the Guardian's favicon 'g' is bolder and better.

holy **** that's one bold Favicon, damn!!!!!!!!!!!

damn well designed I'd say.

On Jun.02.2008 at 07:44 PM

mark’s comment is:

I don't like it. I'm having a harder time finding my google tab now.

On Jun.02.2008 at 09:36 PM

dg3’s comment is:

I love the new one

On Jun.02.2008 at 09:46 PM

JonSel’s comment is:

That's not branding, that's just poking the nerds with sticks.

Better than cow-tipping!

The new "g" seems less corporate

When was Google ever "corporate"?

On Jun.02.2008 at 10:11 PM

Von Glitschka’s comment is:

They're both "Craptacular!"

On Jun.03.2008 at 06:32 AM

Andrew Meyer’s comment is:

Google is awesome for a lot of reasons but their design is not one of them. I think both of the favicons look pretty ugly.

You write, "They just changed a sixteen-pixel square and created a stir. Now that's branding." You're totally right. If anything, here, the moral of the story is that good branding doesn't necessarily require good design. Sadly...

On Jun.03.2008 at 09:48 AM

hamo’s comment is:

thank you for finally explaining this to me as i thought my browser was going crazy or was somehow hijacked.

and the commenter that said some people need to get a life was spot on!

On Jun.03.2008 at 11:47 AM

Andrew J Klein’s comment is:

I wonder why the google home page has remained under-designed for so long. I suppose it's for load-time across the billions of hits they get, and their utilitarian sensibilities. But if it was up to me, for the most visited website on the planet, i would fork over the extra tower of servers it would require to trow a few subtleties.

Also, igoogle awsome, but could still feel better.

p.s. if anyone from google is reading this, i'd be happy to be a consultant ;)

On Jun.03.2008 at 12:16 PM

orangetiki’s comment is:

To Jeff: sorry i was thinking that both G's were lowercase G's. I actually forgot the Google logo. Feels kinda poopy to have this much egg on my face.

On Jun.03.2008 at 12:56 PM

J’s comment is:

I don't like it.

On Jun.03.2008 at 03:53 PM

Robert’s comment is:

I quipped this over at Quipsologies. Just saying.

On Jun.03.2008 at 04:12 PM

nicetype’s comment is:

Obviously, being one of the people out there who DESPERATELY need to get a life, I've googled the new favicon a few day ago, when I've noticed it for the first time. And couldn't find anything? I'm just wondering where all the stir you mention is, and I'm having a harder time finding my Google tab, and I'm in love with the Guardian bold g.

On Jun.03.2008 at 06:21 PM

Paul’s comment is:

Hah. Yeah noticed this the other day ... didn't notify the press or call my mother though.

Would be interesting to get some background info on the change though.

Subtle.

g

On Jun.03.2008 at 07:35 PM

Logo Critic’s comment is:

I don't like the change, but I didn't get into an uproar over it.

On Jun.03.2008 at 08:07 PM

Jeff A.’s comment is:

Why the change? It's confusing and weak. Really weak.

On Jun.04.2008 at 02:27 AM

gfd’s comment is:

The Shepard Fairey logo is nice in that Wired article, but the rest of his redesign is appalling and indulgent rubbish

On Jun.04.2008 at 06:40 AM

Anonymous’s comment is:

I don't know if I really care about the change except yesterday I had a search open in google and a search in gettyimages and I kept mixing up the tabs. Although different colors, they are similar favicons. I don't think I ever realized how much I recognize specific favicons as if they are logos.

I love the guardian favicon. It's a beautiful execution.

On Jun.04.2008 at 09:31 AM

JT’s comment is:

Ugh, I hate when people over react!

::swallows a handful of pennies, sets hair on fire and jumps out window::

On Jun.04.2008 at 02:50 PM

exigent’s comment is:

Looks like it is back to the Big G boys and girls.

On Jun.04.2008 at 05:19 PM

Myo Kyaw Htun’s comment is:

Too much attention on big 'Goooooogle'.

On Jun.05.2008 at 02:03 AM

binoygopal’s comment is:

i don't like......

On Jun.06.2008 at 01:46 AM

Philip’s comment is:

Pretty sure they're going to change it back to the capitalised G. But probably with a colorful twist. Other examples are here on a post at Mashable - my bet is on one of the Gs at the start of the 4th row.

On Jun.08.2008 at 07:59 AM

Kyle’s comment is:

When Garth Brooks changed his logo to lower-case g in the nineties, he was sued by rapper Warren G. I think they eventually settled and agreed to share lower-case G, but it was a big trademark case. I am surprised Google would want to risk litigation.

On Jun.10.2008 at 12:49 PM

anonymousest’s comment is:

This only bothers me because it's a lower case descending character floating on the baseline. The Guardian's favicon works better because it bleeds the box slightly.

On Jun.11.2008 at 01:11 PM