Nick Bennett, strategic planning director at Rawnet

Everyone knows the world of corporate rebrands and logo refreshes is going to go one of two ways. A Marmite campaign coined it perfectly – “you either love it, or hate it”. Google’s new identity marks an important step change for the business off the back of its recent restructure and the introduction of Alphabet. I personally like it.

The serif logo we’re all accustomed to is synonymous with the internet, but has arguably fallen behind the progressive and playful brand and product offering Google has become known for as the business has evolved. After all, since the introduction of the Android operating system, Google has been refreshingly moving away from the corporate image associated with the giant tech companies like Microsoft and Apple.

Google is a fun business and isn’t afraid to express it. It’s new logo therefore comes as no surprise in terms of style. The industry is currently seeing a resurgence of mid-century modernism: clear, geometric fonts with uniform weights and bold primary colours. The evolution of logos is an important step-change, and arguably none are more significant than Google – a logo that significant proportions of the world come into contact with on a day-to-day basis.

As consumers our expectations need to be addressed and surpassed and a logo is arguably the most significant of entry touch-points to do this. A logo represents more than many give it credit for – it is a fundamental identity piece that builds, shapes and communicates that brand to the target audience.

With the announcement of Alphabet earlier this year, with its playful building blocks style, it makes sense for the now child company Google and the company’s new logo to follow suit and fall in line with the direction of the company’s existing branding. It also feels like the right time for the company to whip up a buzz in the media to reaffirm their positioning as a company focusing on its users, and shouting about the future of technology and how the logo falls into place across an array of different platforms and products. It’s actually a very clever time to create this buzz, as Google say it’s all about “how Google is working for you”.

With Google being considered the centrefold of business, what will be interesting to see is if their competitors and counterparts are also seeing (and feeling) the need to evolve for future purpose and what changes they make. Will their change(s) receive (and warrant) such attention and scrutiny?

Read more: http://wallblog.co.uk/2015/09/02/googles-new-logo-the-industry-reacts/#ixzz3kf92niaa Follow us: @brandrepublic on Twitter