This morning i started Firefox and saw a new Google favicon, at least i think it's new.

websonic.nl/nieuws/052008/imag ...

I was surprised and thought it was Firefox 3rc1.
Weird... and why?
google.com/favicon.ico

After doing a proper reload, I saw that too.

Is Google undergoing a rebranding exercise...?

(Maybe they're going to be known as "the little g" rather than "The Big G" from now on...)

Not for me...

I saw it too, I did a search and now I'm on your blog...
It's only buzz I think :-)

(Sorry for my english)

Me too :)
Do you imagine some billions of people will say or think "oh, there is a new Google favicon" today.

yeah its new!!

the capital G was better than this small g (its too common... and this font too)
it will take a while to get used to it.

yeah billions of people. can't believe we are still on first page of discussion.

I just saw it too..
Pretty weird..

I wonder if they'll change their toolbars search icons as well.

Maybe they'll start doing special favicons instead of doodles... ;-)

It's UGLY! Please my beloved Google bring us the previous one back!!

<< Maybe they'll start doing special favicons instead of doodles... ;-) >>

lol.. :)

Ew...I do have it now :(My favourite is this one:

microsoft.com/library/media/10 ...

Woah! Thats big :- sorry

Yeah, I liked the old one better, but what are we gonna do? I don't think we can do anything. "Little g" indeed.

Saw it on google docs, isn't on live for me on google normal, but thats probably because of the exerimental search I have turned on. Just found out its only on a secured connection:
www.google.com/favicon.ico
google.com/favicon.ico

David, are you sure it's not just cached? Have you tried doing a Ctrl+R reload? (By default, secure files aren't cached so that may be why you're seeing it on HTTPS but not HTTP...)

Looks to me like they're encouraging the use of "google" the verb vs. "Google" the company. They want to be the next kleenex? The next post-it?

I could get used to this...

blogoscoped.com/files/more/goo ...

blogoscoped.com/files/more/goo ...

And what is it with the background on the ico. It totally fails on white background and in the urlbar on FF3RC1.

I dislike it. It's not as clear as the previous .ico, and with only one color is harder to differentiate from sites with their .ico's in similar colors.
Maybe I'll change my mind if/when I get used to it, but right now I can see it getting easily lost in my tab bar.

I don't like it...

I don't like it either. And as I work with several tabs it's more difficult to identify it with this grey background. This change is not user friendly.

Not for me, I prefer the old one

I prefer the old one too. This one is unreadable, with a weird background.

Google.co.uk doesn't have it yet

Stan, I'm seeing it on Google.co.uk – have you tried reloading using Ctrl+R?

Google.co.uk does have the new one. I like it!

I prefer the new one actually! Always disliked the extremely thin capital G. If you haven't gotten it yet on your local google, www.google.co.uk seems to have it now.

And now Google Blogoscoped's getting in on the lowercase "g" action... ;-)

I've just seen it since I use the icon for my netvibes Google tab and I think it looks very bad. At least code.google.com still has the old one so I could save it to my server and use it from there.

What's up with the stupid gradient in the background? Look very odd on my FF.

I like it, very simple but looks professional!

You are right Haochi, it sucks.

I don't really care for it, but that's probably just due to the fact people don't like change. I'm sure we will all get used to it after seeing it tons of times every day for a few weeks.

Yeah, the background really sucks...transparent anyone?

Wow, googled "google favicon" when I saw the new favicon and here I am...

It is transparent and totally fails on black themes like mines..

Personally its not for me...

I agree with the complaints. This new favicon sucks! Google, please return to the old good one.

Who moved my Cheese?

No, no, no! Why did they change it ? Bring the old icon back!

It keep me thinking that I'm at a webpage of some dictionary. Or at a typography site. I don't mind the background, though.

i think google is being more like "xhtml" no uppercase letters :)

Oh my... I don't like the new icon. I don't care if it is more 2.0 than the old one; the square with the big G was OK for me.

I just noticed it and wondered if anyone else noticed so i did a google search and lots of people are already talking about it. I like the blue, not the lowercase. Big G with the same style is what I'd like to see. -_-

My too different too!!!
I´m using the Google Brazil...

I see it on maps too, which in my opinion should have it's own favicon. I'm not sure I like this new icon, I don't associate it with Google. Blue? Lowercase?

I hate it

Something's changed; immediate response; I DON'T LIKE IT, BRING BACK THE OLD......etc, etc, etc.

(I personally like it, lower case logos always seem more 'friendly' to me)

I don't care what people have to say. From a designer's point of view – it's quite nice! The rest of you are probably old folks;)
A lot of companies, such as msnbc, are now going for the lower case letters, to favor the web 2.0 style.

I *really* don't like it... I think it's horribly ugly and it really doesn't feel "Google" to me... the typography, the color, the lowercase g just doesn't feel right... Please change it back!

I like it and prefer it to the old one, although they could do with getting rid of the shadow.

None
Have you seen the lowercase "g" in the Google logo, it's the same font. I like the colour, although I guess the issue for most people is that it isn't multicolour, like the old Favicon or the Google logo.

phew... i thought there was some hijacking going on... i had a certificate mismatch this morning and gmail had it on the sign up page... i was leery to type in my password... i'm glad that it wasn't just me.
the favicon is so-so... if you like the old one, you can make a greasmonkey script like this one: userscripts.org/scripts/show/9 ...

 blogoscoped.com/forum/132365.h ...

<< I could get used to this... >>

I can't.
I seems horrible.. :/

Found this fix here for Firefox users:
userscripts.org/scripts/show/2 ...

What Google actually has done is to re-rotate(turn back) the symbol to earlier version, so "∞" to "8" as it was. Beyond this, the "8" interprets the lower-case favicon "g".
googillion.blogspot.com/2008/0 ...

like it.

Searches "New Google Favicon" and here I am.
I think it's alright. What's wrong with a little change huh?
How are you supposed to hate a little 16px*16px icon...

Blogoscoped is going to get a "shitload" of traffic now.
Hope your servers are ready for it!

What an ugly ugly ugly ugly favicon.

Is "Jamex Xuan" James Xuan's brother? ^^

I like it.

Seems I'm seeing the old one again, though? Hmm.

Wow... thats a nice touch to Google's looks

Come on, it´s just a favicon For God Sake!!!

What do you mean Ben?

You've previously got the new favicon and now you get the old one back?
(Try what Tony said:  blogoscoped.com/forum/132365.h ...)

I don't mind the new fav icon. I sort of wish they would use that icon for the iPhone home screen icon for the iGoogle page. Right now there isn't an icon associated with that and it looks funny next to other sites.

The new one is BAD!

I really don't like the new one. I agree with Tony Ruscoe; that one is really nice.

Who had this bright idea in the first place? The previous one was way more colorful. This is just boring and bland!

Regardless of whether it looks good or not, I think it's still interesting how much attention a favicon can get.

There's definately going to be a resurgance in the importance of favicons – they're a lot more prominant in Firefox 3...

Can't say I like it. I thought something was wrong with my browser.

looks weird on my ff

Rufus: "Something's changed; immediate response; I DON'T LIKE IT, BRING BACK THE OLD......etc, etc, etc. (I personally like it, lower case logos always seem more 'friendly' to me)"

drtimofey: "I don't care what people have to say. From a designer's point of view – it's quite nice! The rest of you are probably old folks;)
A lot of companies, such as msnbc, are now going for the lower case letters, to favor the web 2.0 style."

The fact that it's lowercase is not the problem. The new icon is inferior from both design and user experience perspectives for at least two reasons:
1. As was already mentioned, the new icon has much lower contrast within it, so it stands out much less in a tabbed browser.
2. The gray background will clash color-wise with many more browsers than the old logo. The gray background to the current logo will be a "little bit off" from the interface chrome of most browsers which shades of grey (lighter or darker, with varying hues) on almost every platform. That slight difference distracts the eye more than the former solid white field with primary-coloured border.

I don't like it. I'm too used to the high-contrast RGB border... so familiar and easy to identify at a quick glance. It also didn't clash with browser interfaces like the new one. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And If this is part of a google "re-branding initiative"...

*groan*

very ugly and thrid grade
thats what it lloks like

That's it.

Out of sheer curiosity I searched for "Google's new favicon" and landed here. And what follows is a rant directed at no one in particular. If you are wondering why I chose to comment here, think of it as the price you pay for success. :P

The internet has finally reached the pop-culture zone... Blogs have officially are the new soaps.

I agree conversations on the blogosphere were always veering towards the inane, but this, is a tad too much.

Who would have thought that we'd be discussing a 16x16 px image?

I think I'll retreat back into my shell now...

Cheers!
Shrikant

I don't like it. Defiantly should be a capital (Big) "G". The big "G" has become an instantly recognisable .... errr.... letter, and changing to the lowercase "g" would not be a goog choice.

Shell spent 5 million pounds on research for a new logo. The people came back and told them to keep the same logo because it's recognisable. So Google if you want, I can do the research for you :-)"

To sum it up in 3 words..... "Do Not Want!" :-P

I don't like it. Previous one was better.

I agree (with Martin) that the shadow is unnecessary. Why re-introduce a boundary after going to all the trouble to eliminate it?

<<goog choice>>
believe it or not that was a typo :-D

My suggestion for favicon – big "G" no border

I don't like it, please revert. Rename iGoogle to something real. Remove the line that was added under the toolbar (Web Images Maps ... My Account Sign out). Stop the bloating.

Shrikant

"Who would have thought that we'd be discussing a 16x16px image?"

Yes, it seems minor on the surface, but I think most "power users" here recognize that this discussion is about more than just the arbitrary colors of 256 pixels. Favicons are re-used all over the place, from start pages like netvibes, to Firefox's built-in search, and beyond.

One could argue that the favicon is like a new kind of logo for the web world. Good favicons summarize a brand's identity as simply as possible. The old Google favicon did that. The RGB border and the distinctive captital "G" inarguably screamed "Google". This new one, on the other hand, seems unfamiliar and not very representative of the brand we are all intimately familiar with.

Looking at it closer now, the new "g" actually appears more of a purplish color than blue, further disconnecting it from Google's established identity.

looks bad...

Today I did some searches for my university project and I had a lot of problems identifying the search tabs from the content tabs because I didn't recognize the favicon anymore. Especially on inactive tabs it is very hard because the contrast between icon and tab color is very bad :(

Here may be the reason:
<< "I think the Google logo is childish and ugly," Jeff Veen [Google Designer] just said at a SXSW panel. >>
valleywag.com/365568/google-de ...

And if Google's ambition is to win the "corporate game" against Microsoft, a less-childish logo could be a little but symptomatic step forward.

I just showed up here on my IE7 and also my yahoo toolbar.

I know i've seen it before..

here.

bluesage.com/images/GattisPizz ...

I show up at the Google homepage to do some research and get sidetracked by the new favicon.. wow.

I definitely don't like it. It's just too.. basic. And the lowercase 'g'? Not working. Google is a proper noun, with it's letters all colorful-like. They should bring back the old favicon. Or maybe even go with the one James showed above.

New favicon... not so 'fave' with me--ugly. Stupid move, changing one's "branding" for no good--no Good--reason.

Jérôme Flipo: If that's why, I'm tempted to call this a case of "creativity" over "usability"...

I'm trying to resist the temptation to dismiss this new favicon out of hand... but... anyone got some pitchforks and Jeff Veen's address?

It's a joke. I swear, I had nothing to do with the fire! ;)

Update Firefox’s search bar with new Google favicon

mozillalinks.org/wp/2008/05/up ...

I tried it on Vista and XP. XP was working, Vista not.

Jeff Veen no longer works at Google and that was his personal opinion.

I wonder if the reason Google might have changed their favicon is because Firefox 3 gives a blue highlight to secure websites. Try www.gmail.com in Firefox 3. With the new favicon on the blue background, it actually looks pretty good. Perhaps the opaque square of the old favicon obscured the secure page highlight.

Looks rather like the Guardian favicon reversed – see guardian.co.uk/

If I set the favicon.ico file on my server to be some 30mb image file, would a browser download it? I tried it locally and the webserver appears to serve the large file to firefox 2. Couldn't this be a bit of a vulnerability, if a user had webspace and put a favicon there and then had a tld redirect to that space?

It's more pleasing to the eye. I like it.

Is there a way to update the Google favicon in the built-in search engine in Firefox?

<< Is there a way to update the Google favicon in the built-in search engine in Firefox? >>

Yes, there is:
googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008 ...

and:  blogoscoped.com/forum/132365.h ...

I think its just ugly and dull. I really don't like it at all. It was so easy to spot the Google Tabs before but now this little grey g just sucks.

Oh, dear. What a mess.

The 'Big G' was part of their brand. It was eye-catching and distinctive. It was familiar.

The new one completely destroys that. The new one is weak and indistinct. And WTF choose a letter from the *middle* of your name?

This is change without purpose or benefit.

Evidently Google has more money than it knows what to do with if they're paying people to 'fix' stuff that ain't broken.

Yes, yesterday (30.05.08) in Google Brasil portal I saw this new favicon, better than former.

Ugh. I, too, hate the new icon.

Scanning my tabs for the familiar Google icon and there's just this weird purplish squiggle. It's not even in the Google colours.

Google grew to staggering proportions on a philosophy of consistency, recognisability and ease of use... and now this rubbish?

I *really* hope this will be one of the rare cases of a company acknowledging that people hate the new design and going back to the old.

Most are scared of looking weak or stupid and will defend their decision to the death no matter how bad it is, thereby looking even more stupid.

I hate new favicon. Google what are you thinking?

Bad decision Google, I mean google...

In my firefox where I normally have >30 tabs open, I keep losing the google tabs because of the new favicon which I am not used to. I am used to the old favicon and like it. I hate this new favicon which is making me do extra work(extra effort to figure out the google tabs).

I think it's pretty funny. They change favicon and the world explodes. In a month we'll all have problems remembering what the old icon looked like, it's just how it goes.

Hey! This g is very similar to number 8. Probably chinese influence? We all know chineses considers that this number brings up joy, prosperity, and so on.
   I don´t hate it, but it seems to me too humble, opaque, a very sad blue,rsrsrs

I love the new favicon; it's way prettier.

Anyone remember "New Coca Cola" ?

This favicon sucks! Way to hard to find when I have all those tabs open.

I also don't like the new icon. The main reason is that it is hard to spot.
Shame on you (g)oogle!!!

Google Stole the small "g" Favicon idea from me googlepatrol.org I have it registered for one year now!

[unlinked]

Eh... doubt it Igor

All part of their new "softer" image"?

See:

+ Show video

The watcher
Tony beat you to it: blogoscoped.com/forum/132365-f ...

blogoscoped.com/files/more/goo ...

The watcher:
To be continued..
lol... :P

I'm going to have to give this new one a thumbs down as well. Just not as pleasant to the eye as the old one.

I think the new favicon is just fine. Maybe they didn't have to do this, but I think this is a part of Google's constant improving. I don't even see the favicons on my tabs. Besides, everything is moving to smaller screens, so Google decided to go to a smaller "g" :)

Much better icon! I'm glad google has decided to change its old-fashioned icon that was just ugly between all other modern icons. These people, who always shout 'I hate the new icon', are just not able to get used to it, because they probably are like 80 or 90 years old.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

lolllll
That's the phrase i've been searching for this topic :)

Maybe they are just trying to save on bandwidth costs. The new icon is 256 bytes smaller.

I doubt that.. :/

"Maybe they are just trying to save on bandwidth costs. The new icon is 256 bytes smaller."
hahah, yea sure

Seems that some guys in Google have nothing to do lately.

This favicon just like Geegain.com's favicon. It is red and this is blue... Old favicon is good to Google...

More discussions on Reddit: reddit.com/info/6lqbl/comments ...

The new favicon looks like an 8, which is a good omen in China.
Well done.
Also, "G" stands for "Giga", which means "a billion", impressive but intimidating, like any big number.
Whereas "g" is "gravity", which pulls you in.
Well done.

A lot of discussion is going against the new favicon
Seems like people really didn't liked it

friendfeed.com/e/044c9e23-9fe3 ...
gordonswaby.com/2008/06/02/i-h ...

Looks better with the new blue background some icons get in Firefox 3 (guess it's when you're using HTTPS).

I cleared my cache and now it's back to the Big G. Did they change it back because of the users?

It's not changed to the "Big G" for me.

It seems it only changed on GVideo, maybe it never changed to the little g on Video for me, do you have big or little on Video Tony?

I have the Big G on Google Vidoo:
video.google.com/favicon.ico

Poll: what's your take on Google's new favicon? (because I sure hate it): pollsb.com/polls/poll/14229/ne ...

More proof that nobody cares about GVideo...

The new little g is rubbish! bring back the BIG G and all will be forgiven!

Mike's poll is the suck, you are asked to login, but closing the dialogue box continues the poll anyway, and the phrasing for the 3rd option is not one I want to choose.

Read this googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008 ...

The new Favicon is a symbol for infinity (∞). What stands for the amount of search results google has.

My brain said "gsk" when I saw the lower case "g". Most people I've spoken to have had negative reactions to it – it's less unique and distinctive – aren't those the core two words of marketing?

I swiched my UA to iphone, and then saw the icon changing (and the whole page)
I payed no attention furter.
But then i switched back but the icon stayed the same. "this is strange"

I refreshed, opened another browser, and today googled it for sure.

:)

 blogoscoped.com/forum/132365.h ...
<< More proof that nobody cares about GVideo... >>

lollllllllll :)

From searchengineland.com/080603-13 ...

<<[...]the official response from a Google spokesperson:
"We recognized there was a need for a Google icon that would better work across multiple applications including web, mobile and client applications. We felt the small 'g' had many of the characteristics that best represent our brand: it's simple, playful, and unique. We will be looking to improve and enhance this icon as we move forward.">>

So the new Favicon is a work in progress then. I presume that this also means the Favicon will be the icon used on a Google Search application for Android and iPhone (if one is released, that is).

If they'll improve it, and i'll like, i might consider removing the big G's script.
:P

(userscripts.org/scripts/show/2 ...)