RIP Twitter’s iconic bird logo

Early Monday morning, Twitter began replacing its blue bird logo with a fan-made “𝕏” logo. The same X also appears on Twitter’s homepage, as the profile picture for its official @twitter account, and on the splash screen displayed when the website loads. The blue bird logo hasn’t been completely removed from service — it still serves as the website’s favicon and remains prominent across all mobile apps — but we’re now mired in a haphazard rebranding that was announced yesterday by Elon Musk.

“Soon we will say goodbye to the Twitter brand and slowly to all birds.” Musk wrote,

The modern Twitter bird was actually the company’s second logo and replaced the company’s Earlier “Larry the Bird” logo It was used between 2010 and 2012. twitter bird logo Designed by Martin Graser With Todd Waterbury and Angie Chee. The final design was one of 24 possible options presented to Jack Dorsey. grosser first Said fast company The co-founder and former CEO of Twitter picked it up almost immediately.

The logo itself was constructed from 15 overlaid circles, which Graser said helped with its legibility. “With a logo, something so small, you want repetitive shapes and forms,” ​​Grasser explained. fast company, “That makes it easier for the human eye to understand, and it’s less cluttered.” The circle was also intended to symbolize Twitter’s aim to democratize information and give a voice to all.

The Twitter bird was much more than just a logo; It also matches the language used to describe the service. Calling Post “Tweets” predates the first version of the bird logo. for a few years, But now, the two seem to be largely inseparable. Twitter is the “bird app” and posts are “tweets” that you compose by tapping on the feathered icon.

The Bird Theme Is Too Deep, And It’s Not Obvious X Corp. (as Twitter has been legally known for several months) will be able to completely change that.

Responding to a Twitter thread from Grasser outlining his approach to designing the iconic bird logo, Dorsey replied With a goat emoji, meaning goat, or greatest of all time.