Facebook has decided that a rebranding is in order. The company has introduced a new corporate logo and brand strategy that it hopes will more clearly distinguish Facebook the company and its individual apps. There’s not much to say about the logo in question, as it’s just “Facebook” written in a a plain font.
It’ll also use the new branding to help better communicate its ownership in other ventures it operates like WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Portal.
Facebook described the task of designing its new company branding as a collaborative effort based on three foundational design behaviors: clarify, empathy and creating space. It uses custom typography, rounded corners, capitalization and open tracking to “create visual distinction between the company and the app.”
From the perspective of an ordinary user that isn’t into typography, it’s little more than the word “Facebook” written in a plain, all caps font that matches the color of its individual brands. It’s nothing if underwhelming but that’s the design direction that major companies are taking these days.
This is strictly a cosmetic change. Many of the functional integrations between these products took place years ago. It’s certainly not going to address more serious complaints like the willingness to run false ads from politicians, ongoing privacy issues or the possible financial effects of its cryptocurrency. In that light, it may feel like more of a distraction than anything.
