Android will get an uppercase ‘A’ in new rebrand By Joseph Foley revealed 28 June 23 The brand new brand bucks two latest design traits.

3 months ago 3 min read

Google loves a brand redesign, and now it is the flip of Android. However in one thing of a shock transfer, the cell working system’s new look turns its again on two main traits in brand design – and even on Google’s personal latest strategy.

Firstly, Android’s getting a sharp uppercase A. And much more surprisingly, it is going in opposition to the flat design development, making the robotic head 3D (see our information to easy methods to design a brand for ideas in your personal work).

The brand new Android brand (proper) beside the design it replaces (Picture credit score: Android)

Google’s persevering with with its controversial brand redesigns for its app icons, which now all look the identical due to the appliance of the Google colors. However the brand new Android brand is a really totally different story. Up to now it is solely appeared within the model’s adverts on YouTube and in shows, however we assume the brand new design shall be rolling out on boot screens with the launch of Android 14 in a few months.

On the one hand, it is bought a sharp uppercase A, eschewing Google’s penchant for rounded design. However on the similar time, the ‘n’ and ‘r’ are actually rounded once more like they have been from 2014 to 2019). And whereas the app icons have been following the flat design development, the Android robotic goes 3D.

The transfer would appear to sign greater than only a newfound respect for grammar. Quite, it appears to say one thing about how Google needs the cell working system to be seen. Lowercase letters are sometimes used to attempt to make a model really feel approachable and pleasant. Uppercase feels extra conservative, but additionally extra authoritative and enduring. Android appears to need one of the best of each worlds, with super-rounded letters led by an infinite pointy A towering means above them. It should not work, however it does, presenting a mature however trendy and expressive model.

Android logo

3D brand design is again (Picture credit score: Android)

Alongside Android with an ‘A’, the robotic head mark can be getting up to date with a brand new 3D design (hallelujah!). Aside from standing out from the mass of flat designs on the market, there could also be a few causes for the change.

The 3D design may permit the robotic to tackle totally different personalities for various functions. We already noticed one thing of this at Google I/O 2023, when Google billed Android because the world’s “most expressive OS” by dressing up robotic in a variety of designs, from tyres to a disco ball. On the time, we thought these have been a one-off, however the brand new brand may permit them to grow to be a daily useful resource, permitting Google to frequently change the robotic to speak totally different Android instruments or options.

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The Android robot seen in a presentation — The Android robotic will get expressive at Google I/O 2023 (Picture credit score: Google)

One other doable rationale for the 3D brand design could possibly be the anticipated rise of VR/XR. Google is working with Samsung and Qualcomm on an XR undertaking that is led to hypothesis that we may even see a brand new Samsung VR headset packing Google software program, doubtlessly as a extra reasonably priced contender to Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. Within the meantime, here is how Android bought its identify (in case you’ve ever questioned).