We know that every time Facebook undergoes a little redesign people lose their minds, that goes without saying. There’s ranting, there’s raving, but then people realise they can still snoop on old friends and post about how great their life is and sanity prevails.

Facebook’s latest change might require more attention to detail, however. Their iconic logo has undergone some changes but it’s not exactly going to affect your life in any great way. For a point of comparison here is the previous logo followed by the new logo. Wired unpacks those changes below:

The new blue wordmark keeps the favicon (that’s the “f” icon you see most often), changes up the “a” and features a rounder, slimmer custom typeface that’s easier to read on small screens.

Ah, I see, so why would they fix something that isn’t exactly broken then?

The point of the update unveiled Tuesday was to “modernize” (sic) the logo and “make it feel more friendly and approachable,” creative director Josh Higgins[said]…

In other words, make it work on mobile.

We know that Facebook’s latest office in Jozi will focus on making the social media site more accessible to mobile users (and businesses) throughout Africa, with the simplification of the logo speeding up that experience. For the design fans out there here’s a few expert opinions on the tweaks:

“What the new Facebook [logo] lacks in personality, it gains in terms of practicality. In this case it was to appeal to a more mass market”, [said Min Lew, a partner at Base Design]…

Howard Belk, chief creative officer at branding agency Siegel+Gale, echoes that sentiment: “It’s a utility driven change, clearly to optimize the logotype for mobile devices, which is really key to facebook’s business strategy,” he says. “They’re recognizing that the overwhelming majority of people see [the site] on a digital backlit screen, and most of those screens are small.”

And to the laymen and women? I don’t imagine it will affect us very much at all, we can still silently judge whoever we please from the other side of our screens.

[source:wired]