Facebook Updates Its Logo & Identity

Facebook just rolled out the first phase of its rebrand to modernize the overall identity system.

The goal was to evolve the visual identity to bring consistency and better experience across the board.

Or as they put it: "Identity that is bolder, electric and everlasting".

Subtle Logo Redesign

The most noticeable change is an update to the Facebook logo.

This includes a flat, gradient-less Facebook blue that improves accessibility.

The distinctive “f” icon has now greater separation from the surrounding circle shape.

These refinements might seem minor, but they drive greater harmony across the entire identity.

Here's a nice little animation illustrating the logo updates:

Both the logo as well as the wordmark were redesigned using the custom typeface called Facebook Sans.

The new wordmark has now less condensed letterforms, which enhances overall legibility.

For example—notice how o's are more rounded in the new wordmark (image below).

Also pay attention to the increased kerning—look at the distance between "c" and "e".

These are small but meaningful changes that are set to achieve better visual balance and consistency.

Together, the revised symbol and wordmark now create a more cohesive identity overall, since they pair well with the rest of the typeface.

Expanded Color Palette

In addition to the logo redesign, Facebook also developed an expanded color palette.

While blue remains the foundational color, new secondary blue hues were added to enable more flexibility in marketing materials and digital product interfaces.

The range of blues allows for tonal variety while retaining brand cohesion.

The updated palette was crafted to be vibrant and accessible, with appropriate contrast ratios.

Reactions Get More Expressive

To align with the new brand identity, emojis get a visual upgrade as well (FB calls them "Reactions").

Leveraging the expanded color palette, the emoji illustrations were reimagined with more dimensionality and vibrancy.

The refreshed Reactions feature 3D style emoji.

They are currently in the testing phase and will roll out to all Facebook users over the coming months.

New Iconography System

In tandem with Reactions, Facebook’s entire iconography system was overhauled.

There is now a spectrum of icons ranging from expressive and dimensional for Reactions to flatter and simplified for functional icons.

This enables the system to flexibly scale to small sizes for utility icons while allowing for lively emoji.

The full set of icons were redesigned to create visual cohesion.

Modernized Design System

The updated Facebook brand identity comes to life in the mobile app and website interface.

Users can see the new logo, wordmark, color palette, Reactions, typography, and icons (just check your FB app).

However, while this initial release focused on foundational brand identity elements, additional changes will roll out over time as this was just the 1st step.

Consistent Brand Experience

Facebook plans to continue refining its cross-platform design system to offer users a seamless and effortless experience.

This updated brand identity is the first step in evolving Facebook's digital interfaces and real-world presence.

As you can see in this example, even subtle changes to the core brand elements can help brands create a more consistent, accessible, and dynamic look.

Key Takeaways

• Facebook rolled out the first phase of an updated, unified brand identity system.

• Small but meaningful changes were made to the logo for improved visibility.

• An expanded color palette provides more flexibility while keeping blue as the anchor.

• Reactions emojis and the entire icon suite were redone to be more expressive.

• The new brand identity aims to create a consistent, accessible experience across touchpoints.

• Periodic brand identity refreshes keep visual branding aligned to evolving user needs.

Resources:

Original Facebook article

‍