I can see why everybody’s bashing the brand new Google Fi Wi-fi brand By Joseph Foley printed 24 April 23 graphic design So many complicated design selections.

5 months ago 3 min read

So Google Fi has a brand new brand. What, one other one? Yep, and a brand new title too. In its third rebrand in eight years, the WiFi service is now Google Fi Wi-fi. To date, so smart. The clarified title ought to imply that extra folks know what Google Fi really is (and that it exists).

The brand new Google Fi Wi-fi brand can be clearer than the earlier design (and it feels very acquainted due to the same old Google brand colors), however there are some unusual issues occurring, and I can see why folks discover it complicated (no, it will not be making our decide of one of the best logos).

The Google Fi brand (left) is not any extra. It is now Google Fi Wi-fi (proper) (Picture credit score: Google)

Personally, I feel the Google Fi rebranding is not less than an enchancment for what remains to be a reasonably unknown Google product. The earlier brand spelled out ‘Fi’, however the overlapping colors made it messy and unclear. The brand new design is cleaner whereas nonetheless clearly a part of the Google household with these colors and curves. However what it represents is not an entire lot clearer.

At first look, we’ve got the identical 4 colors we see in most Google logos – blue, inexperienced, yellow, and purple (this insistence on utilizing the Google colors for each brand has been criticised for making the apps look indistinguishable). However due to the extra hues used on this new design, there are literally a whopping seven colors in there – another than within the earlier design and within the comparatively fussy Google Meet brand.

The brand new Google Fi Wi-fi brand vs the previous oneI hate it pic.twitter.com/1vF7pFtMI6April 20, 2023

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The rationale seems to be to make the brand new brand appear to be it is product of oddly proportioned toggle switches. What do toggles need to do with WiFi? It is presumably a reference to Google Fi’s concentrate on cellular, with an app for configuration and controlling plans. The app’s useful, positive, however referencing it within the brand does not assist us perceive what Google Fi is.

Google Fi Wireless logo

The Google Fi Wi-fi brand in comparison with different Google logos (Picture credit score: Google)

The ultimate curious design determination is using 4 bars to make an ‘F’ when three might need sufficed (assume Figma). It makes it really feel like the brand is larger than vital, which makes it look squashed as a favicon or when it seems on the Android standing bar. It seems like the concept might need been to make the design resemble sign energy bars… in the event you flip it on its facet…. and mirror it in a mirror. However even then it might be cellular sign fairly than WiFi energy, so once more complicated.

For tips about the way to keep away from design pitfalls, see our piece on the way to design a brand. We even have a information to one of the best graphic design software program.

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