Twitter is a new way to express your feelings:
Taking the world by storm in 2006, Twitter took social networking to a whole new level. The founding of this social networking website is mainly accredited to Jack Dorsey but Noah Glass, Evan Williams and Biz Stone are also recognized as founders of the company. This website enables users to send texts based posts on the website which can be read by their “followers”. Similarly, users themselves can “follow” other people and stay updated with their happenings. Twitter is rapidly increasing as a base for celebrities, politicians and sportsperson alike to keep their fans updated with their recent activities and to maintain a fan following.
The Twitter Logo – then and now:
The company’s logo was first designed by its creative director Doug Bowman. It featured the word ‘twitter’ written in bold, white text followed by their famous icon of a bird which the call Larry the bird. The icon was named after NBA legend Larry Bird. Recently, however, twitter has redefined its famous bird icon and given it a fresher look. The bird, initially light blue in colour, now sports a darker shade minus the haircut of its predecessor and is shown as soaring upwards. There is also a minor difference in the shape of its beak. The wings too look more clean- cut and angular rather than the rounded fluffy looking wings of the old icon.
What the twitter logo represents:
When twitter burst on the scene, its logo contained its name; however the new logo no longer contains the name and officially consists of the bird alone. In their update the website stated the reason for their change saying, there is “no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase “t” to represent Twitter”.
Obviously, the statement above shows the confidence of the owners on their website and is a manifestation of the success that the website has had over the years. With over 140 million people tweeting every single day, the change in the logo marks the perception of the owners that their website is indeed popular enough to be recognized by their famous symbol of Larry the bird.
To me, the new logo not only symbolizes a change for the better, for the website and its ambitions. The bird which is now soaring higher also looks as if it is portraying the websites aspirations and their rise to success. What better way to describe your growing ambitions than a soaring better, even though it is nowhere as majestic as an eagle!
As summed up by website ‘Tech Crunch’ the new logo looks more ‘optimistic’ than anything. The decision to use just the bird icon and no text is also of great significance as a sole picture portrays a lot more ideas and is open to perception. The common saying that a picture can speak a thousand words holds true here as this solitary bird redefines the very core of twitter.
This is summed up by Mr.Bowman who says:
“Whether soaring high above the earth to take in a broad view, or flocking with other birds to achieve a common purpose, a bird in flight is the ultimate representation of freedom, hope and limitless possibility.”
Interesting facts about the twitter logo:
The new logo, many of you will be surprised to hear has been created merely by using three sets of overlapping circles. This information was also shared by the website’s creative director who also went on to say that the three circles represented the mixing of networks, interests and ideas between peers and friends.
Another interesting fact is that the original bird logo sparked a lot of controversy regarding crowd sourcing when it came to the fore that twitter had purchased this design for a mere 6 dollars. This caused a lot of anger amongst many designers who protested against crowd sourcing.
