From a creative point of view, the evolution of the Google logo has been a slow process. I for one have never liked the logo itself, but understand the need for clarity and that the logo is just a stopping off point as people come to Google to search, learn and find new things. The colours have always jarred with me, like a cheap logo for a local entertainer called ‘Google the clown’, but hey, design is subjective right.

The logo doesn’t really need to be clever, intricate or shout about what it is, this is one instance where the brand is far bigger than the mark itself. As they’ve gone for a relatively stale sans serif with just one typographic touch (the angle of the ascender of the ‘g’ lines up the ‘e’) I’m hoping that the application of the new identity will be a lot more interesting… we’ll wait and see I guess.

In the mean-time, check out this video of how it has evolved, and below, read how the original designer feels about the new logo (via Mashable.com)

The new logo has received a lot of attention on social media, here is what Ruth Kedar, designer of the original logo thinks.

“I am the quote unquote mother of the previous child who has gone away and come back in a slightly modified form, so I’m adjusting to that,” Kedar said in a phone interview with Mashable.com. “I’m still wrapping my head around it.”

Larry Page and Sergey Brin approached Kedar in 1999 while she was working as a teacher at Stanford, they wanted to build a new Internet search company and were looking for help designing a new logo.

“It wasn’t a known brand. We were dealing with trying to make a dent and an impression that was at first sight very different from what was available then. Play was important. Differentiation was important… Now we are seeing a completely new interpretation of that.”

Product Sans has been used in this new iteration to replace the old serif font. Also, for the first time, the Google logo is animated. The range of colors is similar to earlier versions, but more vivid.

Kedar continues “I was expecting some changes after Alphabet,” Kedar says, referring to Google’s decision last month to restructure and create a new parent company. “There have been a lot of changes in the company and the product line and technology and the media in which we display… So I’ve been surprised that they haven’t done something beforehand. Designing the original logo got me to some level of notoriety and definitely has opened doors,” she says. Google’s logo change may result in a change to her personal brand as well. “People need to now refer to me as the FGLD — the former Google logo designer.”

Kedar seems happy enough with this though… “My 15 minutes of fame were a little bit longer than that. When I did this design, nobody had thought that it would be what it has become”