Final Firefox 3.5 update: a new logo
For the upcoming new Firefox 3.5 (Shiretoko), Mozilla is planning an important final update: the venerable Firefox icon.
A few weeks ago, and despite the proximity of Firefox 3.5 final release, Mozilla announced its intention to revisit the logo for a subtle update that reflects the deep changes it has experimented in the last three major releases since its last retouch around Firefox 1.5 release.
In a post by Firefox User Experience team member, Alex Faaborg, he introduced the first of a daily series of logo proposals. Today’s (shown next to the current and original versions) presents a rendering by Anthony Piraino, based on a conceptual sketch by Jon Hicks (the original logo creator) from November 2007, that “introduced additional detail to the fur, and the flames starting to wrap around planet mozilla which significantly modernizes and streamlines the appearance of the icon.”
In a previous post, Alex explains some common questions the decision may rise including the rationale and timing.
Why bother fixing something that isn’t broken?
In a marketplace that is focused on products that are newer, faster, lighter and shinier, design work is inherently perishable. Part of this is larger trends and fashion (for a period of time cars had fins), and part of this is simply ongoing visual change as an indication of overall progress.
For the creative motivations behind the overall effort, check Alex’s enlightening Creative Brief for Shiretoko Refresh.
UPDATE: A second iteration is already available as you can see below: less hairy, more saturated, more defined flames.
Comments
Brendan Zabarauskas
The current logo is by far the best. I’m really not liking that tail…
ob
i think the new tail is good. its more FIRE for the firefox. i think they did a good job.
Stacey
I’m liking the new logo. The tail actually resembles fire now, unlike the current and past logos. Not to mention, it has way more contrast and pop to it. Nice work.
Dread Knight
It’s expected newbs will say they don’t like the new logo version. Meh…
Victor VasconcelosMay 17th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Always happened with change, will always happened. I wonder if these people are 40-year-olds living with their mothers on a dark room.
Remember all those tweaks about disabling AwesomeBar?
Dread KnightMay 17th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Yeah, you have a point there :)
I’m a graphic designer / usability expert among other things and the proposed logo is definitely WAY BETTER.
Who doesn’t wants improvements, should stick with the old stuff.
cabotineMay 27th, 2009 at 6:15 am
You sure mean Firebird, didn’t you? :)
Dread KnightMay 27th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Unlike Opera, i don’t think firefox actually ‘forces your hand to update’ as far as i know. Well, unless you’re using linux and updating your distro to a new release… :D
cabotineMay 27th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I am sorry I meant Phoenix :)
Mauricio
Is it gonna burst into flames?!? how sad… :(
Winter KnightMay 17th, 2009 at 1:20 am
“Is it gonna burst into flames?!? how sad… :(”
Not a problem. Firefox is a descendant of Phoenix, so it will be reborn after bursting into flames.
Joe Blow
Try the new tail with the current body.
Johnny BoyMay 17th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Yeah, I like the new tail but I don’t like the new body.
Not that it really matters. How many people would have noticed had they not announced it?
Derek
If you keep the current body and proposed tail it would be perfect. The current body has more contrast than the new one.
Brandon
How about fixing the whole look of the application. Firefox looks horrible in Windows. Yes I know there are addons and custom themes, but nothing is as good as a good default.
Chrome is nice and simple. IE is chunky, but it still fits.
The Firefox team and community can fix the look, I know they can.
TranscartMay 17th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
the whole reason why Firefox is considered the best browser is the addons and community, why the fuck should they be worried about the theme?
BrandonMay 17th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Why the fuck not? Why did they take the time to polish Firefox for OSX? It has been done.
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3/Theme/MacOSX
Greg
The second iteration of the proposed logo appears to have an ice cap. As a forward thinking product, shouldn’t the ice cap have already melted due to global warming?
catylax
Even tho the idea of new version => new logo is great, this new logo sux on an immediately visceral level. The fire in the tail looks plain and simple like napalm. Why, at this time in America’s amazingly sad Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney history, does Mozilla want to introduce another picture of “USA firing flames across the world”? Does it really want to project that kind of subliminal message, whether intentionally or not?
TranscartMay 17th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
In the newest version they are trying to revert back to the original logo while giving it more detail to keep it looking like fur while at the same time fire, not just fire as in the previous new version. Also in what kind of way does Firefox stand for the US?
FalterZone
I kind of like the new logo, although even with our ultra-modern display devices I have to wonder how much people are going to notice a lot of detail in something that will often appear in less than 32 pixels square. Speaking of details that no one is likely to notice…just which planet is that fox enveloping, anyway? Maybe they could put more detail there.
TranscartMay 17th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
detail is good if your someone who uses rocketdock or something similar, or if your a macfag. Its annoying finding icons online in higher resolution just so that my dock wont look blurry.
kevingoris
i like the 1st new one and would be nice with a mix of the half non fire side of the logo beside the new one….
Chad W Smith
I love the new tail – I don’t know why you’re getting rid of the hair on its head, though. Made it look more realistic.
Saphire
I don’t like the new, proposed version either. While I do like the lighting on the earth and how the tail sort of wraps around the globe, it’s too dark on the left side, and the fox’s tail-fire looks like that graffiti-looking, abstract fire that teenagers draw.
g
current logo is the best.. but if a change must happen, keep the current body and add the new tail… the contrast loss in the new logo on the body is unacceptable.
just a visitor
At least we got a new fox.
Real fox.
FireFox got a new logo.
Lets party!!!!
I was thinking about imaging is only apple’s and microsoft’s work.
Now as we see.
Mozilla makes big steps on it.
Lets party!
Aaron
meh, the proposed looks ok. I like the idea, but I think that the flames are a little too defined, it still needs to look like a tail. Too much fire goin on there, little less fire and more tail.
alvin
Do not like the fur… Makes the back look very empty. The flames are OK though.
Dark Fox
I rather like the new logo. It’s nice to see some evolution in the artwork as the product advances. It helps denote change and progress.
tim
well i can’t see the big difference with the new logo except for the little change with fox skin
Randa
Well i like the current version .. the proposed one lost the finesse of the whole logo…
disopedient
frankly speaking i did not notice the previous change. and … i doubt i would have noticed this next coming one, if i did not read this article.
so what’s the significance? :D
Yuley
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the change is only superficial, and no one really gives a damn? As long as the browser keeps getting better, I don’t care what they have as a logo.. I mean, when opera was the only good browswer out there, their ‘O’ did just fine.. Not many people are going to notice the more fiery tail, or less fur, or a different world map, or whatever..
Rno
I couldn’t care less; the changes are so slight I doubt anyone who doesn’t know it has changed will actually notice.
Justin
The proposed version has depth to it. if you pay attention to the tail, it wraps around the globe giving the whole icon a three-dimensional feel. I like icons that keep me interested, and this proposed version looks pretty nice. Plus the tail finally looks like fire (duh. ’tis the point). Not bad, Mozilla.
Richard Perkins
I like the idea for the proposed version. I just hope it’s not the final. While the tail does look sort of like fire, it just looks “off”. I believe the end should taper off to a point like it did in the current and previous versions. That’s the only beef I have with the design.
Marty
I don’t like either of the drafts of the new logo. In the first draft, the Fox is too hairy (think smooth Web 2.0, ala the current logo, ie leave it alone) and in the second, the flames on the tail look like that of a Mermaid.
If it ain’t broke…
Steve Kerrison
Why is the Firefox logo a fox on fire, instead of a firefox (Red Panda)?
Dread KnightMay 17th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
lol? Don’t think most people will get the ‘red panda’ thing. I never heard of such thing myself to be honest.
RedPandaMay 19th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Firefox, the browser, is named after the red panda: Firefox Brand Name FAQ. It is not named after a common fox that has burst into flame. It seems silly to me to forget that and make a logo with a fox on fire.
Dread KnightMay 20th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Seems even more silly to me that someone named and animal after another, by adding a suffix to it.
Euan Gallacher
Don’t change it!
The new proposal loses alot of the dynamism of the current one, The current ones colours and sharper style make it much more energetic and cutting edge looking.
The new one almost looks dated.
Prescott Linux
I really don’t like the new logo. The other two are much more fun to look at for me.
“In a marketplace that is focused on products that are newer, faster, lighter and shinier, design work is inherently perishable.” – I’m not buying that. Who wants to see Campbell’s soup get rid of their label which looks like it was designed in the 1800s for a new, 21st century design?!
George Fragos
The Firefox logo has great brand recognition — it isn’t broken. The tweaks proposed alter the logo but still maintain it’s brand without additional marketing effort. I don’t have a problem with the proposed logo and like it’s implication that Firefox continues to improve.
Dread KnightMay 17th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Well said it, George. Not like the noobs around here bragging about stuff.
Sam
The biggest flaw in the Firefox logo is that the fox is looking AWAY from the veiwer.
This makes it both visually obscure – at icon size all you see is a orange/blue furry blob – and also in human terms, it limits our connection with the mascot – it does not make eye contact.
So, it has no expression, it communicates nothing – its just literally a fox, on fire, and its swirling around a globe like the one on the Netscape Navigator logo.
If it had a mischievious look while cradling the globe, it would be fantastic, appealing, project personality…
As it is now, IMHO, it lacks clarity.
At this point, its probably too much to ask to change this, so this is just my 2c…
QOAL
Why fix something when it isn’t broken?
Seriously, it does not need a make over, leave it alone before you make a sorry mess of a nice logo.
Dread KnightMay 17th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
It’s way better. Don’t like new/better stuff, just stick with the old stuff. End of story.
Jadamog
I don’t like the new one, looks like the fox is burning. Current one is the best by far
chr0naut
I like the second iteration proposed tail on the current version body. The globe still looks a little dark (I like the idea of more intense colours througout). The globe on the 2nd iteration draft has some nice glow to it but I think it could have been taken further. Also a smaller diameter phong reflection could be added to the top of the globe in the gap between the tail and the nose.
Santhosh
Liked the new proposal.
Also one suggestion.
If you concentrate in the the small icon version (in taskbar,title bar) the blue color inside the fox is getting highlighted. I remembered in beginning firefox days it hurts me of thinking like ‘TT’ inside a brown bg.
I think this will be ok with the new design.
white_angel
yo’ guys chill out will ya’ it is only a minor change to the current logo. But once more all of you manage to demonstrate, if it would be necessarilly, that when it comes to Change managemnt most of us are agains it from one reason or anoter. I realy don’t think that the proposed version is too much of a change at all. For me it look best and as good as ever. Have a nice week all.
DW
I definitely think the current one is the best looking, but I’m definitely liking the second iteration’s tail. I’d say take the second iteration’s tail and put it on the current version and call it a day.
Soup
The fox continues to get more realistic, while the Fire tail keeps becoming more and more wild. you know where this is going, don’t you?
GIANT FOXZILLA FIGHTING PYREDAEMON FOR DOMINATION OF EARTH
Robert
The small proposed Version is not really good. The tail looks like fire too much. The “big new version” is really good. A nice improvement without forgetting the roots. The body could be a little bit more “hairy” (more like the current).
Whatever you do – i will not stop using firefox because of the logo. ^^
Sparky
There’s another iteration available
http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/
Just follow his blog to keep up with the latest news
Bil Simser
I like a hybrid of the two. I like the new tail as it more represents the fire of the Internet and has more flair than the current one. However I don’t like what’s been to the fox, specificallys it’s back. It’s too washed out and flat. The current logo has a nice stylized fox fur to it and blends well into the flame tail. Just my 2 Canadian cents.
Mandea
C’mon, guys!
We are talking about something very, very little, thrown somewhere on desktop or in a bar (even tinnier), used to launch a good program.
Please, use those skills to polish the appearance of the browser, I keep it opened more than 15 hours per day.
That icon… I don’t look at it, I know where it is, my mouse goes to it without me.
Albert Pak
I like the new proposed logo – nicely 2.0 looking with some hotness added to it!!!
Kurt
Pretty nice, but I think it needs a touch. The icon would be better if the hair of the fox had a little more “yellowish” colour, i.e. a touch of firefox’s tail on his body hair. I hope this comment will be considered
Tony
Current version is better than ALL of the new proposed ones. I like the stylized/abstract fire-tail more so than the more defined flames of the newer versions.
Xbot
Firefox is the best.
Open Source FTW!!!!!!!!!
though Firefox needs to stop eating all my Ram damn it !!!
John
I am an avid firefox user and I do like the current one better. Please don’t change it. Or else you might see some side/backslash effects. Time will come when the logo needs a radical change (like Microsoft windows) but now is not the time.
Matt
Well, I do like the icon over all. The arm in the new version doesn’t look like it’s attached for some reason though. I would probably lighten up on the fire in the tail a little bit, but I do like the direction. I kind of expected that they would hold off changing the logo until they hit 4… Oh well… lol
snowflark
Don’t like it. The additional detail in the tail unbalances the image, and it’s really not necessary to emphasize the ‘fire’ so literally. Everyone knows that the (current) logo means ‘firefox’. Leave it as it is.
cabbageboy
New logo is a nice little graphic….but hey, its only a logo, who really cares?….maybe some people should get out a bit more huh? Its the browser product that matters, get that right first eh?
Markus Merz | Hamburg St. Georg
Good work. Love the new logos. Totally makes sense to me.
Kode
I find it entertaining at just how much people have strong opinions on such a minor. I would bet if they did not say anything and went a head and changed it, most people would not have noticed or cared. But when you make an annoucment it opens the flow for a lot of commentary.
I think the updated logo does add more contrast and shading. The tale now does look like fire which is good.then you have the back hair which I did like from the middle image, it adds more light along the body and not just on the tale. Either way, it will not stop me from using the browser. Neither of the logo versions were ugly.
kalyr
OMG, the Fox is on fucking FIRE! This new one suck’s, the old is much better!
Samuel
When it comes to icons, there is no better artwork then Everaldo Coelho´s, in my opinion. (http://everaldo.com)
Check it out
http://everaldo.com/crystal/images/application.jpg
I still can not understand why his Crystal Project isn´t still being used by the major GNU/Linux distributions!
John
I like the new one, but the flame on the tail is too curved around the back…
Keep the new flames bot shape the tail more like the old one.
hey
fire – color
not fox on fire
PLEASE LEAVE FOX AS IT IS, JUST ADD CONTRAST OR SOMETHING
Gabriel
About time. When I first downloaded Firefox 2 years ago, I always wondered why they didnt make the tail more fire-like. This new logo actually represents the name of their product. MOZILLA FTW!!!
FIRE
????????????????
????????????????
????????????????
Why not simply add an ability to CHOOSE a logo, via the same way they’ve done so in Winamp, then the Firefox team can provide any/all logo designs plus an ability to install customized logos.
I’m actually surprised nobody has created an add-on for this already, because searching through Window’s shortcuts for installed/misplaced logos can be a waste of time, somewhat (not a great waste of time, but — you know — it’s just one of those things that take away from speed).
Philjarrah
OK folks we all move on, so lets improve. We have a “Fox” so the fur in current is great. Now we need Fire – Flames please not these warty rubbery looking spikes. Come on, if you are going to do a make over, bite the bullet and do something worthwhile. Something with a bit of “OOMPH”, don’t be embarassed, this is one of the great products in the world so lets have more “Zoom Zoom”. Yeah I nicked that. BTW, exactly what will we actually see when the logo is so tiny on a deasktop?
Joe
Honestly, it looks too much like some of the fan-made dock icons people post on deviantART. I don’t like it.
The current version is perfect, in my opinion. It looks sleek and sophisticated. Adding flames to it is like putting a flame sticker on your car; it’s tacky and looks ridiculous.
I hope they don’t go in this direction.
Pazman
People care too much about things that don’t matter.*
For what it’s worth, I think that the more abstract it looks, the better. Icons should represent, not depict.**
*Including myself, but that doesn’t make it any less silly.
**I know this because I am an authoritative source of information. Also, I know everything.
Eddy
I think it would be better if you didn’t see the planet on the lower right corner and if the tail was slightly more spiky like the current version.
claus
Current is best: better color separation, hair on the mane gives sharper image, and as someone put earlier it doesn’t look like the fox sprouted mermaid fins… Keep it a Firefox. Not RedPanda, not Firefish, but Firefox.
Steve
Umm, am I just projecting my horrid little imagination, or is the fox’s tail engulfing most of Europe & parts of Africa in flames? Ah well, (s)he’s not hugging the U.S. anymore either… but doesn’t the little fox want friendly to the world’s users?
Just add in a little touch of Songbird’s concept (a bird breaking wind–now that’s creativity!). Nothing like a fox with a flaming rear-end, shooting a little gas to the moon!
cabotine
I think its nice in the large version but if Firefox 3.5 RC2 is using this one, then it sucks in the tiny taskbar and the logo in the upper left corner (Windows).
Regards
Steve
I like the idea of the logo that evolves along with the browser itself. The changes are subtle (as has been stated above), but it does make the tail look more like flame — I am sure that this was the intent with the first logos, but I hadn’t seen it before. The new logo makes it clear.
Evolution is good.
PWORLD
ayy the fox doesnt look like its jackin off anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bhu
I loved the logo……. refreshing look plus the tail is better wrapped around now.
wrote something about it – http://marketingamateurs.blogspot.com/
check it out!
Matty
I think the new logo does look more obviously like fire but it also looks a little wild. I quite liked that the old logo was more subtle in this but the new logo does still work. I guess I am just not really sure why they need to change the design as the old logo works fine and does not look dated yet. Thank you for sharing.
MarkusAntonius
I think the tail on the proposed one is not streamlined well enough compared to the globe like the old one but other then that it looks way better
Nancy
I just got Firefox and saw the logo for the first time. I don’t like it. It looks stressful. Foxes have always frightened me (as a child in stories) and they are wild and unpredictable… Fire isn’t a good feeling… fire is scary and can hurt people and is threatening. Seeing that animal and fire embracing what seems to be a globe or blue sphere (the world?) is terrible. Every time I put some webpage on my desktop there is anohter on of those logos. Orange and yellow are stress inducing colors that also increase hunger. That is why fast food chains use it in tables and chairs…. etc…
Firefox – please change your logo to something not related to FIRES and FOXES. Why they picked this name is a mystery and a mistake. They should have called it Blue Water —- or Blue Sky or something pleasant and made the logo a nice light blue shape – without something stressful about it. Any psychologist would have told them this. I hate the current logo and I hate the coming logo. Fire. Foxes. Stress. No one really want alot of either one in their life ——-
Ryan
I really don’t like the proposed version. It looks like the tail has mange to me!
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Television SpyMay 17th, 2009 at 2:58 am
Looks sorta like the fire singed its tail. The current one is best
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