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Twitter logo changed: Why Elon Musk changed Twitter’s blue bird logo to ‘Doge’ meme and the History of the Business
Twitter logo changed: Following Elon Musk’s latest update, Twitter web users were greeted with the Shiba Inu ‘doge meme’ rather than the iconic Twitter blue bird logo.
Twitter’s iconic blue bird on its home button was replaced with a Shiba Inu logo associated with the cryptocurrency a day after Elon Musk sought the dismissal of a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit accusing him of intentionally inflating Dogecoin’s value. In response to the update, Twitter CEO Musk shared a post on Tuesday that depicted the face of the Doge meme riding in a car while a police officer allegedly checks the driving licence, which displayed the ‘old’ blue bird logo.
According to Bloomberg, Dogecoin’s value increased by nearly 30% after its image appeared unexpectedly in the website interface and the term ‘Doge’ began trending on Twitter.
Musk also shared a screenshot of an old conversation with a user who requested that he ‘buy Twitter and change the bird logo to a doge’ and wrote, ‘as promised’.
The official Dogecoin Twitter account responded to the change by invoking the style of the famous meme and writing, “Very currency. Wow. Much Coin. How Money. So Crypto.”
The update comes just days after Musk announced a crackdown on ‘legacy’ blue ticks. Twitter began removing the verified check marks from accounts that refused to pay for the service, including the New York Times.
The Evolution of the Twitter Logo
The Twitter Bird logo first appeared in 2010, but few people who use Twitter today are aware that it has a name. The basketball legend Larry Bird, who played for the Bolton Celtics, inspired the name Larry T Bird.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone chose the name because he is from Boston and is a Celtics fan. He has also confirmed that the sporting legend was the inspiration.
The bird was not the first version of the Twitter logo, but there have only been a few variations since the first version was created in 2006.
The First Twitter logo: 2005 – 2006
Twitter was founded by Noah Glass and Evan Williams, who ran the San Francisco-based RSS-syndicated audio and video directory Odeo, Biz Stone, and Odeo employee Jack Dorsey, who came up with the idea for what was originally intended to be an internal company messaging system.
The name is a surprise in the early logo designs, which were created by Stone himself. Twitter was originally going to be called Smssy, and then Twttr. The tagline ‘An Odeo thingy’ appeared on several designs. Dorsey posted the first tweet on March 21, 2006, with the message “Just setting up my twttr.”
First Official Twitter Logo- 2006
The first official Twitter logo was a refreshing change from the pre-launch design. Linda Gavin, the designer, had only one day to complete it before the official launch. It was a simple wordmark with a unique rounded typeface, small caps, and no spacing between the letters.
The logo’s emphasis on simplicity complemented Twitter’s overall design approach, which helped endear users to the website. This logo, in the sky-blue colour that has almost become synonymous with Twitter, lasted four years before the introduction of the Twitter bird.
The Twitter Bird Icon – 2010
After four years of using the wordmark, the founders decided to add something that reflected the company’s identity. The bird was born at this time, and it was said to represent the nature of a tweet—quick and short, like the noises a bird would make. The bird was positioned to the right of the wordmark, which remained unchanged with the exception of a colour change to black.
The Modern Bird- 2012
Twitter management recognised the need to refresh the brand’s image in 2012, with an emphasis on even greater simplicity. Twitter had become so popular around the world by that point that the company’s name did not appear to be necessary for the logo. The name was dropped, and the logo was changed to that small bird.
The bird itself has been redesigned to have a more symmetrical, clean-cut appearance. The previous bird’s plumage was removed, and the wings were formed by three overlapping circles. They enlarged the icon and changed the colour to a darker blue, which made it more appealing to look at, especially against the white background of web pages. Twitter’s brand identity was established with this bird symbol, and it has become one of the most easily recognised.
