Digital Bounds Logo

YouTube gets a new logo and features

YouTube’s used the same logo since the launch of the service in February of 2005. Yesterday, Google changed the logo by moving the red blob from the Tube to  Play button in front of the “YouTube” text. The red color is also brighter and punchier than before, and the text looks bolder and a darker black. Along with the new logo, Google updated the design of the site to match Google’s Material design style seen through out Google and Android.

There are also a few new features to accompany the new logo. YouTube will now offer a dark mode to everyone on the desktop site. On the desktop, you’re also able to adjust the playback speed, and on mobile, the video will adjust the aspect ratio meaning vertical video will play vertically without black bars.

YouTube changes come at a time of turmoil

The changes to the design and logo are minor but come at a tense time for the video site. Google has started cracking down on videos that talk about sensitive and inappropriate content. There is also changes to the core platform with YouTube Red and YouTube TV becoming a big part of the platform. That’s not the underscore the struggle’s content creators are going through to make ends-meet through AdSense. As you can tell, a lot is going on at the biggest video site on the internet.

These small changes won’t change the problems the sites having nor will they fix any of them. It will shift the conversation away from those problems for a little while Google get’s their bearings and develops a plan to address those large obstacles.

Now, these small changes are important as it shows Google is devoting time and resources to the platform.  Whether they focus on ads, content filtering, and furthering Red and TV is anyone’s best guess.

Let me know what you think about the new logo and design!

 

Comments