Back in 2020, Google rolled out a whole set of redesigned logos for many of its products and services.
While the redesigned logos and icons were meant to give a fresh new look and to also better emphasize Google's brand color, it also introduced confusion due to their similarities. As a result, the rebrand grew more and more unpopular, and somehow unforgiven.
But Google is having bit of a change in its approach when it introduced a redesigned logo for Google Fonts.
While the logo borrows the same minimal, and four-color design language found on other updated logos for Google products and services, the approach is significantly different.
The logo for Google Fonts showcases a typographical affair, featuring an overlapping series of colorful glyphs and shapes.
While this design is probably not the best Google can do, and is much more overwhelming than the 'F' monogram found on Google Fonts' old logo, the updated logo does receive better acceptance.
According to Google:
"The new visual mark gives us greater design flexibility, as well as inspiration for the overall look and feel of the UI to better reflect our vision for the future of Fonts."
But while it's certainly a more contemporary design than the old logo, perhaps the best thing about this design is that, Google managed to make the logo distinct from the likes of Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive and others, while retaining that familiar four-tone Google aesthetic.
The logo is after all unique, a trait that any logo should have.
With its clean and jagged edges, this logo can certainly stand out more.
We're adding open source icons to Google Fonts, starting with Material Icons! Read all about it on the Material blog: https://t.co/SAPa5u7FY1
Oh and yes, we have a new logo too! Thanks for asking pic.twitter.com/1mWK7A6q4I— Google Fonts (@googlefonts) March 2, 2021
Alongside the redesigned logo for Google Fonts, Google also announced that the font library also supports open source icons, starting with the company's own Material Design icons.
Google Fonts was previously known as Google Web Fonts.
First launched back in 2010, and revamped in 2011, the online library consists of more than a thousand of free and open source font families, presented in an interactive web directory for easy browsing. Google Fonts also provides APIs for conveniently using the fonts via CSS and Android.
Most of the fonts in the library are released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, while some are released under the Apache License.