Firefox Has a Rebrand in the Works
Even though most of us use Google Chrome nowadays, and maybe even Explorer for those of us that are little more patient, Firefox is still a common and recognizable name. That’s right, Firefox.
In recent news, Firefox has a complete rebranding in the works. We’re not just talking about a new logo and a catchy phrase or two, we’re talking a complete overhaul of the name and what it represents as a whole. As they put it on their blog:
“With the rapid evolution of the internet, people need new tools to make the most of it. So Firefox is creating new types of browsers and a range of new apps and services with the internet as the platform.”
The new logo
A lot at Mozilla is changing, including the Firefox logo. In fact, all of their icons are changing in attempt to be more uniform. According to the team at Firefox, the old Fast Fox doesn’t offer enough design tools to represent what they’re about anymore.
In order to design the perfect logo and corresponding icons, a specialized team of designers over at Mozilla has been put together. So far, they’ve put together 2 new systems:
“Working across traditional silos, we’re designing a system that can guide people smoothly from our marketing to our in-product experiences.”
“Today, we’re sharing our two design system approaches to ask for your feedback.”
As you can see, there are a few design ques that they’re keeping from the original logo. After all, Firefox just wouldn’t be the same without their iconic fast fox logo.
Involving the community
In the past, there have been quite a few rebranding attempts that didn’t really sit well with the community. Perhaps to avoid this sort of backlash, Mozilla has allowed the community to weigh their opinions on the blog post that announced this change.
Of course, Mozilla is taking caution during this transition, and rightfully so. We’re not just talking about a logo change, we’re talking about a structural change that can easily decide the future of the company. And, even though they want to know your opinion, they make it very clear that there will be no voting or crowdsourcing. The final decision will be up to them.
The masterbrand icon
One of the most noticeable changes will be the master icon. Yes, that little flying fox that circles the ominous blue circle will be leaving us, but not completely. As we said before, taking away the fox completely would mean abandoning their name, too. The design team is very aware of that, and came up with two new master icons:
The spirit of the Firefox is still very much alive in these new icons, taking the most iconic characteristics from the original image, and evolving them. One being the face, and the other the tail, it’s still very easy to pick these icons out as Firefox icons. Although they seem to be shifting towards a more universal look, the colors and overall recognizability is still there.
Firefox Quantum desktop icon
Surprisingly, the desktop icon isn’t changing that drastically. Albeit, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s still the fox that we’ve all grown to know and love:
Above are the two proposed system designs that may be coming to a desktop icon near you. As you can already tell, it’s still a fox. The first system seems to relate more to the original icon, just with a different color theme and fox position. The second goes a little bit farther off the beaten path and ditches the blue circle, and gives the fox arms, as well as a more rounded look.
Which set will they choose?
Arguably, both sets of icons look pretty good. They’re still probably going to pump out a few more ideas and listen to the feedback, but ultimately, I would think that these two systems are very close to the finished product that we can expect.
What do you think? Is Mozilla going through a much needed change, or are they making the biggest mistake of their careers? There are quite a few icon possibilities in the images above, so take a look and decide for yourself.
Read More at Firefox Has a Rebrand in the Works
