YouTube Unveils Iconic New Design After Twelve Years Unchanged

YouTube, known globally as the main hub of online video content, streaming to approximately 1.5 billion users across every possible internet-connected screen daily, has unveiled a fresh new look – its first significant redesign in 12 years.

Earlier, YouTube revealed the carefully-considered principles guiding their redesign decisions across its mobile, desktop and icon applications. The rollout will take place this week. Interestingly, the new logo downplays the “tube” element and shifts its focus to the universally recognized ‘play button’ icon.

The internet giant YouTube are not simply introducing a facelift to their logo. The complete suite of alterations includes a sleek new typeface, a fresh color scheme, as well as an assortment of other changes to the mobile and desktop app interfaces.

Christopher Bettig, YouTube’s Head of Art Department, summarised the changes, stating, “Over the past 12 years, YouTube’s logo has encapsulated a set of anachronisms. Now we’ve moved towards the concept of the word ‘tube’ inside a ‘tube’.”

Bettig maintains that these changes represent an evolution, rather than a revolutionary shift. The process is not yet finished but is ongoing. Indeed, this redesign presents an opportunity for YouTube to unveil other exciting new features, all set to be released alongside the new logo.

Bettig further added, “This new look weaves together these changes, demonstrating the company’s move from being a singular website to comprising a family of different apps which span multiple platforms.”

YouTube’s journey from its inception in 2005 as a website built solely for desktop users has been remarkable. Today, it has become an all-encompassing platform, catering to a plethora of devices besides desktops, including mobile phones, tablets, television sets, and gaming devices.

YouTube’s enormous audience and status as the biggest streaming service means it is no longer a single brand but has expanded its reach to various entertainment areas. With various services such as YouTube Kids, YouTube Red, YouTube Gaming, and YouTube’s TV and music services, it has diversified its portfolio considerably.

Discussing this spread, Bettig confessed, “Given all this growth, we felt we were missing the mark. We strived to create something more unified and cohesive, something that unequivocally says ‘YouTube’.” He continued, “We were hoping to build a visual language that would make it easy for folks to recognize it.”

These significant design changes represent a brave leap for the video streaming titan, which has already achieved so much. YouTube has come a long way and continues innovating and surprising users worldwide with premium features. “Long live YouTube,” we say, eagerly anticipating what’s next in their bucket of surprises.