Bing is the second most popular internet search engine, and it has existed under many different names. Microsoft’s search engine was originally launched as MSN search, but its name was changed to Bing in 2009. Microsoft is constantly rebranding the website and altering the searching algorithms. It is no surprise that the Bing logo is also regularly changing.

Though Bing has only been around for eight years, it has undergone three logo changes already. Each change has helped to further streamline and promote the search engine. In this article, the history and impact of the Bing logo will be examined.

Bing Logo Design Elements

The current Bing logo features a very stylized image of a lowercase B that is made up of thick, triangular lines. The shape of the lowercase B icon makes it look like a flat ribbon folded into the shape of a B. To the right of this image is the phrase “Bing,” written in a thin, san serif font.

The logo only features two colors, a dark blue-green and a shade of white. In some instances, the logo features the blue-green text on a white background. In other instances, Bing uses white text on a blue-green background. Bing also occasionally uses a colorless version of their logo when searching through websites.

Changes and Evolution

1. Shape

The first logo in Bing logo history was simply the phrase, “bing” done with blue letters and a yellow dot on the “i.” Microsoft decided to change the logo to the stylized B image followed by the phrase, “bing,” in 2013.

The decision to change the Bing logo design to an icon followed by the name of the service made the logo look consistent with other Microsoft logos such as the Windows logo. The logo was changed one last time in 2016 to make it look even more similar to the rest of the Microsoft product logos. The “B” was capitalized and the width of the icon was slightly narrowed.

2. Color

It took quite a while for Bing to settle on a signature color. Throughout Bing logo history, the logo has changed from first being blue and yellow to simply being yellow. Yellow is a very tricky color for graphic design, since it does not stand out much against white. Therefore, Bing decided to change their logo color to a slightly darker teal that contrasts better against a white background.

3. Font

All of the logos used for Bing used custom typography. The first choice was a very curvy, flattened font that was heavily criticized. Later alterations changed the font of the logo to a custom san serif font called Segoe that is used in other Microsoft logos. Originally, the “B” was lowercase, but it was capitalized in 2016.

Influences/Inspiration

The main focus behind the logo for Bing was a desire to create something that was “simple, real, and direct.” The company spent a lot of time doing minor font alterations to improve public perceptions of Bing. For example, the bottom curve of the “G” was twisted upwards because it made the logo look friendlier. The stylized “B” icon at the front of the logo is called the “Searchlight graphic”. The multi-angled appearance is meant to show that Bing searches all angles of the internet when looking for information.

Trivia

The yellow logo in Bing logo history was originally chosen to match the lower, right-hand quadrant of the iconic Microsoft windows icon. However, all-yellow logos are generally not very effective because they are low in contrast and look like warning signs. There were also some issues because some people felt that the yellow color was too similar to the yellow color in Google’s logo. Ultimately, Microsoft decided to sacrifice their unified color scheme for better brand visibility. Teal is a very uncommon logo color, so it definitely helps to make the logo for Bing stand out a little more.

Conclusion

The newest logo at Bing may be somewhat similar to older versions, but it promotes a more definitive, simplified version of the website. As a search engine, Bing aims to appear authoritative and user-friendly, so they made a smart decision by getting rid of their original, elaborate logo. The new 2016 logo features a stylized icon, bold color choice, and carefully created text that all unite to maintain Bing’s reliable image.

At 22 years old, Yahoo is one of the oldest Internet technology companies. It is known for a variety of social media, email, search, video sharing, and news sites that are all united underneath the Yahoo brand. Originally built as a search website in 1994, Yahoo now offers a variety of other products. This article will examine the history of the Yahoo logo and show why it has been so effective.

Throughout the many shifting trends of the world wide web, Yahoo has worked to remain relevant by rebranding their business and their products. In the first years of business, the Yahoo logo was altered five times before the company settled on the basic logo shape that has remained consistent since 1996.

Yahoo Logo Design Elements

The current Yahoo logo consists of the phrase, “Yahoo,” with an exclamation point at the end of the word. The logo is a deep purple that the company has confirmed to be Pantone Violet C. When examined closely, one can see that the letters in the logo are three dimensional. The font is a custom designed, sans serif, capitalized font with relatively short, wide letters. Both the first “Y” and the last “O” are slightly larger than the rest of the interior letters. The exclamation point is tilted 9 degrees outwards.

Changes and Evolution

1. Shape

Almost all iterations of Yahoo logo history have just consisted of the phrase “Yahoo.” The first 1994 logo was just the word typed out in simple text. In 1995, the logo was briefly changed to a more elaborate text that included an exclamation point at the end. In 1996, the logo was changed to an image of a stylized yellow man jumping over a blue circle with “Yahoo!” written below. This was quickly simplified to just the text and exclamation point with a slight shadow behind the text. Between 1996 and 2009, the logo remained roughly the same. When the company decided to do a massive rebranding campaign, they changed the logo color in 2009. A new font was debuted in 2013.

2. Color

During the early years of Yahoo logo history, the logo shifted from black to burgundy to yellow to purple to black. Eventually, the company focused on red in 1996. This color gave them a bold presence, but caused some confusion since their main email competitor, Gmail, also had a red logo. They decided to shift to a purple shade to stand out, and this is now the iconic Yahoo color associated with all their products.

3. Font

The very first font used for the logo was a simple Times New Roman font. However, all further fonts in Yahoo logo design have been original. Other fonts included the elaborate curlicue font used briefly in 1995 and a handwritten font for the jumping man logo. For a long time, the logo was an uneven, serif style font that is referred to as the “original Yahoo font.” This font is still heavily associated with Yahoo, but the company moved to a san serif font in 2013.

Influences/Inspiration

Yahoo’s branding focuses on being more creative and less professional than other major search engines like Google. Therefore, they decided to switch from a basic red color to an unusual purple hue. This was intended to attract more female users and make the site appear more quirky. In a post from her social media, Yahoo CEO explains “We wanted a logo that reflected Yahoo – whimsical, yet sophisticated”. The winged shapes at the end of the letters is also intended to be slightly reminiscent of the serifs in the original logo. Both the letter shape and the tilted exclamation point are intended to be a nod to the company’s older logos.

Trivia

Though the logo might seem straight, when you view a large version of it, you will see that every single line is slightly curved. This was an intentional choice to make it look more organic. In the United States, Yahoo’s logo was originally red before shifting to purple, but this is not the case in one of Yahoo’s other major consumer markets. The Yahoo Japan logo history is the exact opposite. It was originally differentiated from the American logo due to purple text reading “JAPAN,” but now the entire Japanese version of the logo is bright red.

Conclusion

Yahoo logo history has focused on simple designs that draw attention to their company without needing to state precisely what Yahoo does. This consistency is very helpful since the products and services offered by Yahoo are constantly changing. The distinctive purple shade is not used by any other major tech company, so Yahoo’s logo really stands out amid all the basic blue and red logos of other companies.

Facebook originally started out as an online photo directory for Harvard students in 2004. However its creator, Mark Zuckerberg, quickly realized that people everywhere had an interest in the website. In the years since Facebook was first opened to the public, it has changed social media as we know it. A lot of Facebook’s success has been due to its simple, clean website that was instantly easy for new users to explore. The Facebook logo is similarly straightforward and provides a clear depiction of the company’s brand. In this article, you can learn more about how Facebook’s logo contributed to its popularity.

Facebook Logo Design Elements

Throughout all of Facebook logo history, the logo has remained essentially unchanged. It consists of a simple blue rectangle that contains the company’s name written in white, lowercase letters. The blue shade, a medium, slightly muted blue color, is associated with the design scheme for the entire website. Mark Zuckerberg designed the basic logo for Facebook. He did this using his favorite colors, and he chose the Klavika typeface to write his text. This logo was slightly modified with some input by the Cuban Council design firm, and the iconic logo of Facebook was born.

Changes and Evolution

Shape

All of the logos in Facebook logo history have maintained the same shape. There have been three different iterations of the logo, and each one was a simple, blue rectangle. The only really major change to shape is that the original logo featured two brackets on either side of the text within the rectangle, so that it read “[thefacebook].” When Facebook’s main design elements were finalized in 2005, the short lived original logo had all extraneous material removed so that it just read “facebook.”

Color

The first logo at Facebook had a slightly darker blue background, and the text had a lighter blue shade. After a year with this logo, the company changed the background to the classic muted, medium blue color associated with Facebook and the text color to white. This logo didn’t change for a decade, but in 2015, designers lightened the color of the blue ever so slightly. This color change is barely perceptible, but it helps to keep the logo looking up to date because pastels are trendier right now.

Font

Facebook has always used a modified version of the Klavika font. The only major change to the font occurred in 2015, when the “a” was altered from a double story “a” that had a loop at the top, to a single story “a” that removed the upper loop. Facebook’s creative director felt that this font alteration helped to make the brand look a little more modern and friendly.

Influences/Inspiration

Zuckerberg, the driving force behind the social media website handpicked most of the key elements of the Facebook logo design. Zuckerberg decided to use his favorite color as the main design element of the website, and this decision would greatly impact the logo. Blue is his favorite color because he suffers from red-green color-blindedness. So, blue is one of the only colors that he can see multiple shade variations in. According to Zuckerberg, “Blue is the richest color for me – I can see all of blue.” The choice of a logo consisting of only the color blue quickly became trendy. Other popular social media sites such as Twitter and Tumblr often share it.

Trivia

The logo might seem like it is just a simple text using a basic font. However, there were actually a lot of very small tweaks. The font of the logo is slightly different from its parent font . This is because they altered the angle between the “f” and the “a” to look smoother. Also, the “k” at the end was squished together to look slightly narrower. Joe, a member of the design team that helped to create the design of the logo, played himself in a scene in the popular Facebook movie starring Jesse Eisenberg.

Conclusion

Facebook managed to grow from a simple website for students socializing to one of the major methods of communication worldwide. This happened because it was easy, clean, and intuitive to use. Unlike the bloated designs of MySpace, Facebook greeted viewers with a refreshingly simple white and blue format. Their logo topped this. The Facebook logo fits into the company’s mission goal perfectly. With its clean lines and straightforward meaning, and it has had a huge impact on other social media website’s designs.

Three PayPal employees named Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim created YouTube in 2005. It allowed users from all over the world to upload video content and share it with anyone. Because of its simplicity and versatility, the YouTube brand grew quickly. The YouTube brand also features a classic logo that has gone through some changes but also stayed with its beginning roots. The YouTube Logo design is one that has emulated and influenced other logos in the industry.

The history of the YouTube logo is instructive because it proves that classic design doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful. Read on to find out more about how YouTube logo history has evolved through the years.

YouTube Logo Design Elements

Throughout its history, the YouTube logo has been divided into two distinct parts. The first is the word “You” in black letters over a white field. The second part features the word “Tube” in white letters over a red field that is in the shape of an old television screen, something that you would see from the 1950’s cabinet style tv. Using this design, the logo represents a connection between new and old technology. Just as the invention of television is a revolutionary product, YouTube is a product ushering television into the modern age.

Changes and Evolution

1. Shape

YouTube has preserved its original two-part logo throughout the years. Early in its history, the red “Tube” portion of the logo was lighter in the upper right-hand corner and then shaded more toward the bottom. This gave the red outline a curved appearance to the screen shape to make it looked like a curved screen of an older T.V. The logo also featured the slogan “Broadcast Yourself” at the bottom in black letters. This slogan gave a little insight on what the YouTube product was about, but also gave the logo a clunky appearance.

In 2011 the company opted to tinker with the “Tube” part of the logo. This time eliminating the curved appearance of the television screen. The light portion in the upper right-hand corner was removed for a darker appearance. Only a year later the slogan part of the logo was also dropped, giving the logo a much cleaner look.

The YouTube unveiled their existing logo in 2015. Again it involved a change in the “Tube” portion of the logo in which they eliminated all of the shadings that gave the screen portion a curved appearance. This new look preserves the shape of a T.V. screen around the word “You” yet gives it an even cleaner look.

2. Color

In the period between 2005 and 2011, the YouTube logo underwent subtle color changes. The “You” portion of the logo got darker with a slightly deeper shade of black in 2013. The “Tube” part was also suffered changes to make the red background lighter. Additionally, any subtle lines that outlined the word “Tube” were eliminated, giving the red portion a flatter appearance than any of the other previous logos.

 3. Font

YouTube has maintained the same classic font in all of their logos which is reminiscent of the same that you would find on the title screen of a classic T.V. show in the 1950’s. Certainly, this font helps the brand continuously convey the message that it is connecting modern technology with the past.

Influences/Inspiration

Its parent company, Google, which bought YouTube in 2006 for 1.65 billion dollars,  heavily influenced the YouTube logo. Google famously likes to introduce stylized versions of its logo that have to do with various anniversaries and themes throughout the year depending on the day. These are Doodles which add fresh looks and fun to the logo during celebrations. YouTube has their version of the fun drawings, too, referred to as Yoodles. Similar to other internet based companies, such as Twitter and Facebook, YouTube has also influenced logo designs. In fact, all these tech and social media companies look for simpler, cleaner and more visually appealing logos.

Trivia

Like many internet companies, YouTube started out with very humble beginnings. Interestingly, YouTube’s first headquarters were located in a space above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The company though grew exponentially in a very short period. In 2006 Google purchased YouTube  which gave the company more money to expand its capacity to reach more users. Time Magazine honored the company in 2006 by naming YouTube the “Person of the Year”. A prestigious if not odd accolade presented to an internet based company.

Conclusion

As you can see the YouTube logo has gone through a variety of changes yet, they all have been subtle. All things considered, judging from the past the YouTube logo will continue to undergo just small changes that deviate from its initial classic design. No doubt that YouTube logo history will change as it continues to deliver mind-blowing content to its users and lead this exponentially growing industry.

 

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking platform that connects employers and job seekers. Employers post job advertisements while job seekers post their curriculum vitae. LinkedIn was launched in 2003. Currently, the social platform has more than 106 million active users, ranking among the most viewed websites in the world. The LinkedIn logo has evolved along with the company, too.

LinkedIn is headquartered in California with other regional offices in over 23 locations. Some of LinkedIn’s offices are located in Canada, Washington, New York, Chicago, Dublin, and Australia. Jeff Weiner is LinkedIn’s current CEO. He works in close collaboration with his colleague Reid Hoffman. LinkedIn has supporters such as venture capitalists Sequoia Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Greylock. In this article, we shall discuss LinkedIn logo history and how its design has evolved to define the firm’s brand.

LinkedIn Logo’s Design Elements

The LinkedIn logo usually appears in blue, black, and white font colors. Blue color is commonly used as a background color while white is used as the font color. LinkedIn logo’s design features the two separates words of the company, “Linked” and “In,” written in bold and separated by a space.

Recently, the logo has collapsed to only “in” moving in the direction most mobile applications are using. The word “in’ is usually written in the small case in white and enclosed in a blue square. The logo “Linked” is blue or black, always in the sentence case. LinkedIn can thus be identified by “in” or “Linked in.”

LinkedIn’s Changes and Evolution

LinkedIn logo history dates back to the time of the company’s launching. The logo has undergone numerous changes considered necessary to enhance better recognition. Notable changes have occurred at LinkedIn and they can be identified in the evolution of the shape and color of their logo.

1. Shape

In previous logos, “in” appeared enclosed in a square placed in a circle. Sometimes, the “in” could appear in a circular background without featuring the square. In other instances, “in” appeared in a square whose sides were slightly curved.

2. Color

In previous logos, the “in” had a red color appearing on a white background, or printed in a white color appearing in a red background. After some time, the “in” changed to a white font color embedded in a black background.

 3. Font

LinkedIn has maintained its bold font in both the past and current logos. However, LinkedIn logo’s changes helped the firm adopt a fresh and bold look that is visually appealing. A fresh logo attracts new customers and makes a business stand out from its competitors. The changes on LinkedIn’s logo certainly signify that the social media industry is changing and so is LinkedIn.

Inspirations of LinkedIn’s logo

LinkedIn Logo history originates from competitive social networks and the former businesses where the founders used to work in. Most of the businesses were leading service providers. The competitive nature of the companies influenced the authors to prefer the colors and font in the logo. For instance, LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner uses Facebook as a guide to his progress. Similarly, Facebook uses a blue background for its logo. For this reason, one can argue that Facebook color choice influenced the current LinkedIn logo.

Similarly, most of LinkedIn’s founding team consisted of experts from PayPal and Socialnet. Both companies feature a blue color in their logos. This could have been another source of LinkedIn’s blue color that appears in its logo background. The founders chose a few enhancements to make an outstanding design for their business. Despite the fact that LinkedIn logo design choices might have been subject to the influence to other organization, their design remains unique.

Trivia

The color is an important aspect to consider when designing a firm’s logo. LinkedIn’s standard blue background color signifies calmness, dignity, and trustworthiness. Black means power while the white color represents charm and integrity. The qualities that the colors are representing are the key values that one expects in the professional market.

The logo “in” assures users that they are in the right place. Similarly, for employers, LinkedIn is the right place where they can get the right candidate to fill a vacancy in their organizations. For job seekers, LinkedIn is the right place to land a dream job.

Conclusion

To conclude, logos play a significant role in marketing. A logo serves as a company’s identity to the target population and displays a certain message regarding the company’s products or services. All in all, LinkedIn has been able to create a logo that is not only appealing but is also unique. Its colors also send clear messages to its customers.