I was reading the Techcrunch blog this morning and they had an article on Google " Google Takes A Leap Back to 2001".  Google has released its 2001 search engine for show for their 10^th  year Anniversary.  Most of you know that I'm a huge fan of Google for many reasons,  including but not limited to the way they've taken the internet by storm.  But what's cool is the transformation of Google's logo from 2001 to 2008.  

Speaking in ‘car' terms It's as though Google's 2001 logo was equivalent to  a Volkswagen Beetle,  bubbled and cute - the kind of car you get when just getting out of college and on your way to face the ‘real world'.  If you work really hard and make lots of money you can trade in that old Beetle for a brand new 2008, fully loaded Mercedes Benz. 

The logo is sleeker, more modern and 'tricked out' with the famous  "I'm feeling lucky"  button. Of course there are many reasons a company will change their logo; sometimes for simple esthetics and other times for brand survival, I've outlined a few cases below: 

• Company has simply changed - The product or service or demographics has changed
• Company mission has changed - maybe they've decided to "Go Green"
• Logo is dated, old and doesn't reflect new  or modern trends in design

 A company's logo in most cases will change to reflect it's current growth position as well as the current design trends relative to the industry the company competes, i.e. Google.  But, It is still very important to make sure to not change your logo so much as to alienate your customers who have gotten use to your brand image.  To be honest, Google's logo changes has been so subtle over the years that the average person  looking at it probably wouldn't think that it changed at all.  The beauty of a great brand identity and logo design is the fact that even though the logo has obviously changed, it's still the same in the customer's eyes.  A great logo is a ‘living' image/identity that grows with your company's brand. 

I'm curiously to know  your thoughts from a graphic or logo design, branding perspective why Google has changed its logo over the years and what message is Google sending now that it didn't send back in 2001?

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