The Story of New Google WAVE Logo (From logoblink.com)

Google "wave" is a new "collaboration tool" that you and me gonna use soon. This post is about the logo of this new product. I'll try to cover the basics – what kind of logo it is, why it's designed like this, what are the similarities and the differences in compare of other logos. Also you'll find a small collection of graphic situations and interpretation of this new logo. Or just click on the picture to download the logo in vector format.


It looks nice at first sight. A cool 3D logo with gradients and a shadow bellow. As the main shape is floating freely in the air. A feeling of a new technology. Something extraordinaire. Somebody could take it for a new game console logo, but we know what it is.
No logotype. They're using only a mark. As it is in "Chrome". The color pattern is also the same – 4 colors – blue, red, yellow and green.


One should admit "wave" is a nice naming. Many associations are available, but what kind of wave is the logo ? I think it's a "sine wave". The sine wave or sinusoid is a function that occurs often in mathematics, music, physics, signal processing, audition, electrical engineering, and many other fields. Again, like "google", we have a mathematical meaning. More in wiki.
May be they've designed it on purpose, may be not, but there's a curious fact about the line of the logo. If you are interested in feng shui signature rules you can read :
"For success and prosperity, it is best to start with an ascending stroke with the letters rising upwards as you sign and also end with an upward stroke. This signifies a good beginning and a good ending to every project undertaken in future. Signatures ending in downward strokes do not ensure happy endings. Straight-line signatures usually go unnoticed. They are considered neither auspicious nor inauspicious. This can be strengthened by adding a firm line underneath that goes upwards."


The product is not available for the masses yet, but there are a few different usages of the logo here and there. All the following logo variations of the WAVE are officially used by google at this point. I think the avatar with the tilted logo is a good idea (after all the main disadvantage of the mark is that it doesn't look good in small scale, so the problem should be solved in a way ). Google wave is also loosing points when presented in background, different from the black and white. As you can see on the picture with the t-shirt ( a screenshot from the WAVE presentation ) – the usage of all basic colors doesn't leave many options for the background. Blue is a logical desicion for a backup, because it's just a small part of the logo. Although… white is best.

Also I like very much the favicon. Hope they will not change it soon for a reason.

t's always good to know the other logos in the brand family. I've tried to pick enough examples for you to have a decent point for comparison. A simple conclusion is that the new mark is a sign of a new hope. Services like Adsense and Adwords do NOT have their own mark or logotype. They are just a part of the family…, but Google Wave is born to be different. The usage of just a mark is even a haughty in a way. As we should know that it is "google wave". After all it took NIKE a lot of years to remove the logotype from the swoosh. Look at "bing" – another web star that was born last few weeks – a simple logotype, not pretentious in any way. But Google is big and famous enough to afford it. I guess we can conclude that Google Wave logo is designed in a nice way and it's actually one of the best Google logos, that we know.

Yes, "wave" symbol is often met in other logo designs, especially in water sports ( O'neill & Billabong ). Coca Cola also use it. Although it's not a part of the official logo, Coca Cola always have used the wave in their identity. It's just working. The wave is a symbol of joy, change, movement ( etc. ) and it looks nice. In my opinion Sony's VAIO logotype ( or mark ? :) ) is the best example of the modern technical logos. Abstract enough.. and yet readable for the targeted consumers. I like VAIO for another reason – with it's monochrome variations it's a classic logo. No gradients, no shadows and no trendy fashions.

Original Source : www.logoblink.com

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