Browser logos in the past and today: How Chrome, Firefox & Co. changed.

The logos of the well-known browsers have changed over time. These changes are not always just small innovations. Some of them have been completely overhauled.

Changes in browser logos: Chrome

The Google web browser Chrome has undergone changes, but they are only minor. For example, the current version can still be easily recognised from the first original logo.

• 2008: The round logo is divided into four colours. At the edge, red, yellow and green form a circle around the blue dot inside. These colours also appear in the well-known “Google” logo. To create a 3D effect, the divisions of the colours are kept dark to suggest an indentation. There are also light shiny stripes on the colours.

• 2011: This 3D effect has now been largely removed. Neither the dark sections nor the glossy stripes still find their place on the logo here. This effect is now only indicated by slight colour transitions within the colours. The blue dot is now separated from the remaining segments by a white circle. The colours have been kept in strong tones.

• 2014: Here, the logo received only very minor and hardly noticeable changes. The colours have been made a little more matte and the colour transitions have now been completely removed.

Modzilla Firefox

Not only the logo, but also the name of the web browser changed over time. From Phoenix to Firebird to Modzilla Firefox. This browser has already undergone a few changes.

• 2002: At that time, the browser was still called “Phoenix”. The logo was designed accordingly. It showed a red Phoenix with its wings spread wide open. Even here, the bird’s plumage is reminiscent of a blazing fire. With this logo, the browser was also called “Firebird” for a short time.

• 2004: After the renaming to “Firefox”, the logo now also had to be adapted. It now took on the form that is still very similar to today’s version. An orange fox on a blue globe. Its tail still resembles a fire.

• 2005: The colours of the logo became brighter and stronger overall. Also, the tail of the fox was coloured in a shade of yellow.

• 2009: Here the orange tone of the fox was again darkened somewhat. Also, a dark shadow now appeared under the globe and on top of it a bright reflection of light.

• 2013: A colour gradient was added within the animal. Overall, the logo now appears softer and with less detail.

• 2017: Almost all details have been removed. The logo is now kept very simple and bright. There is also no longer a shadow under the globe.

• 2019: A major change happened here. The globe has become smaller in contrast to the fox and is now purple rather than blue as before. Also, the fox now turns its head so that you can see it sideways in profile. Part of its tail sticks out behind the globe. The logo has a colour gradient, but no more specific details of the fox or the globe.

Edge and Internet Explorer

2015 Microsoft Edge has taken the place of Internet Explorer.

• 1995: For the time being, “Microsoft Internet Explorer” was written in block letters in a dark green shade. Next to it was a blue-grey globe. The font position was chosen so that the lettering seemed to protrude from the screen. Thus, the beginnings of the lines were smaller than the end. In the same year, this changed and the lettering was now set straight on a slightly greyish background. At the top right, in a circle, there was the four-sided colourful Windows symbol.
• 1996: One year later, next to the font, there is the logo of Internet Explorer that we know today: a blue “e” surrounded by a diagonal circle that is also blue.
• 1997: The font has been removed, leaving behind the now light blue “e”.
• 2001: A slight 3D effect has been added here. So it now has a colour gradient that hints at glossy stripes.
• 2004: The “e” has been set in a dark blue colour together with the circle. Also, the 3D effect is enhanced by more gloss, so it almost seems as if the letter has a plastic-like texture.
• 2005: The blue became slightly duller, but the circle also changed. This was now yellow.
• 2011: Both parts of the logo were now light blue again. And the 3D effect was also completely removed, so it was now evenly coloured.
• 2012: While the letter remained light blue, the circle changed colour again to a yellow tone. A slight colour gradient and thus 3D effect was also introduced.
• 2015: In this year, Edge took the place of Internet Explorer. The logo was initially a dark blue circle that took on the shape of a three-dimensional sphere through a grid. However, this changed in the same year. Now it was a dark blue “e”, but with a break on the left side and thus two pointed ends.
• 2019: The letter “e” can now only be recognised with a lot of imagination. It is still a circle-like symbol with open ends on the right side that turn beige like an “e”. It is in several shades of blue that overlap each other.

Opera: Browser logo past and present

The originally Norwegian web browser Opera has also undergone changes. Once again, however, these are only minor changes.

• 1994: For the time being, the iconic red letter “O” was written in a kind of handwriting. Thus, the beginning and end of the circle of the letter did not meet directly.

• 1999: The logo continued to consist of the red “O”, but it now casts a dark shadow towards the back right. This shadow is larger than the letter itself. Also, the font of the O has changed to print.

• 2001: The size ratio of the letter to its shadow has changed. Thus, the red “O” is now larger than the dark shadow.

• 2003: A 3D effect has been added. Thus, the letter, like its shadow, now has bright glossy stripes. The shade of red is also slightly darker than before.

• 2010: The glossy stripes have been removed, but a slight 3D effect remains due to a slight colour gradient within the letter. Also, the shadow is no longer on the side behind the “O”. It is now directly below it.

• 2013: There is no longer a shadow under or next to the letter. This now stands for itself.

• 2015: A major change happened this year. A new 3D effect was introduced that makes the “O” look like a wide ring. It was turned a little sideways to show this effect better.

Safari

Safari is Apple’s web browser. Its logo constantly shows a compass, but its design has changed slightly over time.

• MacOS: 2003: In the beginning, the logo showed a realistic image of a blue compass. The needle points to the north-east. With lots ofdetail, it also had reflections and glossy stripes that gave it a 3D effect.

• MacOS: 2014: Here the image of the compass has been greatly simplified and enlarged. Thus, the logo here only shows a blue circle with a compass needle and small white lines running along the edge. The 3D effect is maintained through shading of the needle and slight colour gradients inside the compass.

• MacOS: 2020: A white square background was placed behind the compass. Otherwise, no other things changed in the appearance of the logo.

• IOS: 2007: The iOS logo was also very detailed for the time being. The blue compass was shown with a blue world map in the background. The compass needle lay on it. In addition, letters were drawn in to indicate the cardinal directions. Lighter highlights created a 3D effect.

• IOS: 2013: The same logo was used here as for macOS from 2020. A much simplified blue compass on a white square background.
• IOS: 2017: The background was removed, but otherwise the round compass did not change.