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Google’s logo changed as the company moved beyond a desktop search page to products used on phones, watches, TVs, cars and computers. Its 2015 identity refresh introduced a four-color G for small, varied screens; in September 2025, Google announced a brighter gradient version as its company-wide icon, with rollout continuing across products and services.
Why Google redesigned its identity in 2015
Google said its earlier identity had been built for a single desktop browser page. By 2015, people were encountering Google across many devices and using different ways to interact, including tapping, typing and speaking. The company’s stated goal was an identity that remained recognizable and useful across those contexts, including at small sizes. Google’s September 1, 2015 announcement described the change.
The redesign covered more than one mark. It refreshed the wordmark and replaced the small blue “g” icon with a four-color capital G designed to match it. Tamar Yehoshua, then VP of Product Management, and Bobby Nath, then Director of User Experience, described the qualities Google wanted to keep as “simple, uncluttered, colorful, friendly.” Those words express the company’s design aims, not measured effects on users.
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The wordmark and the G icon are different parts of the identity
The wordmark spells out “Google”; the G is a compact icon suited to places where the full name may not fit. Google’s 2015 refresh introduced a four-color G in place of the blue lowercase g. In September 2025, Google announced a brighter gradient treatment for that G and said it would represent the company across its brand.
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What changed in the 2025 Google G
On September 29, 2025, Google announced that its company-wide G icon would take on a brighter four-color gradient. The company said the gradient had first appeared in Search earlier that year. It described the new G as reflecting Google’s evolution in the AI era; that is Google’s stated interpretation, not evidence that the design itself produces innovation, excellence or user trust. Google’s 2025 announcement said the updated icon would continue rolling out across more products, platforms and services over the coming months. The announcement described a continuing rollout, not confirmation that every Google surface had already changed.
| Identity moment | Design change | Google’s stated context |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 identity refresh | A four-color G replaced the small blue “g” and matched the refreshed wordmark. | Adapting an identity made for a desktop page to many devices and input methods, including tapping, typing and speaking. |
| 2025 company-wide G update | The four-color G received a brighter gradient treatment. | Google said the G would represent the company across its brand and reflect its evolution in the AI era; rollout was to continue across products, platforms and services. |
A dated glimpse at earlier Google logos
For Google’s 25th anniversary in September 2023, the company published a Doodle animation showing logo versions from the preceding 25 years. The anniversary marked 25 years since Search launched; it is a milestone in Google’s own history, not a measure of logo recognition or performance. Google’s anniversary post provides that retrospective.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the logo’s story does—and does not—establish
The official announcements document how Google says its identity changed and why: first to work across devices and interaction types, then to give the G a brighter gradient and a broader company-wide role. “Innovation and excellence” may describe the associations a reader brings to the brand, but Google’s posts do not establish that the logo causes either quality. Nor do the cited announcements provide an independent survey or experiment measuring recognition, trust or business impact.
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- Head Case Designs Officially Licensed DC Comics product
- Stylish, scratch resistant, high resolution printed graphics
- Hard-Shell Polycarbonate Material protects from scratches, drops, and dust
- Slim, lightweight construction easily slides in and out of pockets
- Raised front edge helps protect against screen scrapes if you place your mobile device facedown
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