Google Chrome 100 recently hit the stable channel, and along with various improvements and new additions, the browser has received an updated logo. The new Chrome 100/ Chrome 2022 logo sees the browser heading in the same direction as Google Pixel icons with a flat approach to the classic Google design language. But it’s a little more complex than that.
As mentioned above, the new logo is completely flat, devoid of even the minor shadows that the Windows 10-era browser introduced. The colors are also slightly more saturated and appear brighter. Overall, it’s an interesting approach to the company’s classic design language and seems to suggest a theme of simplicity but better integration and a more ‘vivid’ experience in the new browser.
As flat as the new logo is, however, there’s a certain amount of dynamic design involved too. As it turns out, the new flat logo is exclusively for Google OS and associated devices. If you download the new browser for Windows, the logo will take on a design language that brings it in line with the rest of the Windows 11/ 10 ecosystem. When downloaded for macOS, the logo will appear three-dimensional to match the rest of the macOS icons. As explained by Google designer @elvin_not_11, the new logo was designed for an integrated, OS-specific experience.
It is unclear whether the new logo will ship to mobile devices or when. As most mobile brands use some native variation of ChromeOS but not the exact OS itself, we might see brands like OPPO creating a logo in line with Chrome 100 but still fully integrated into the ColorOS ecosystem.
Logo design is a personal and highly specialized form of communication. This latest design language update of the Chrome browser is a step toward a more integrated future, comparative and possibly synchronous with the advent of new features in Windows 11. There seems to be a greater interest in, for lack of a better term, translating the old individual operating systems into design languages that each understands. This minor choice to adapt the Chrome 100 icon to other operating systems could speak to something bigger—a more connected and harmonious and less competitive future.
