Firefox Logo Re-design & Evolution | A lesson in great logo design

I’ve always been a fan of Firefox, not just the browser which I still use today but the creators Mozilla and particularly the Firefox Logo Design.

Whilst others created corporate, safe and typically lacklustre logos to represent their browsers, Firefox made a unique stance right from the beginning, and that’s before Firefox was Firefox.

It was Firebird.

The first logo back in 2002 was pretty horrible. Not so much a representation of the times but more of the future.

After a name change and steady focus FireBird became Firefox with a fired up fox zooming around the world, encapsulating and curiously looking over the globe suggesting speed, accessibility, protection, security and community worldwide.

Even by today’s standard, it’s quite daring to use so many gradients and colours in logo design but Firefox pulls it off with creative class.

Over the years it’s changed minimally but noticeably with deeper colours, less detail on the fox’s fur and changes to the firetail, reflecting each era of the internet (Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 etc).

A new era of web design emerged, incorporating flat design where the use of gradients are been minimal and substituted for solid blocks of colour.

In doing so it makes a logo redesign for Firefox quite difficult.

Should it stick to its roots and identity of vibrancy and gradients or go flat like the rest of the world to stay current.

What Firefox did was this:

They stayed true to their brand identity without disregarding current styles and opted for softer minimal gradients, losing the glossy feel of a detailed illustration in place of a flatter, smoother matte finish.

As a sign of their ever-growing evolution and market status, the logo has now streamlined further removing a lot of detail for a more solid and subtle illustration to produce a cleaner looking and more powerful logo, again without losing its heritage.

The latest iteration is not completely flat nor does it loose its original identity design.

Firefoxs logo redesigns have always been great solutions that solved the dilemma of creating a brand identity that stays current yet stays true to itself.

As you can see, the FireFox logo has changed over the years but Mozilla‘s timing for a logo re-design is great and unlike most companies, they manage to make every new version of the logo better than the last. A feat that’s hard to do but possible in small consistent steps.

Maybe one day we’ll actually see the fox’s face.

What do you think of the new logo?

Do you need help re-designing your logo design?