Google redesigns the Gmail logo and now the envelope’s gone


Google is updating the Gmail logo with a new design as part of a rebranding after which it’s now called Google Workspace. The Gmail logo has gotten rid of the iconic envelope that has been prominently living on our devices and on the web for years and instead replaced it with a simple “M.”

The new logo appears to be finally in line with other Google services like Drive, Chrome, Search, and Google Photos. It now consists of Google’s core blue, red, yellow, and green colors. Although, what’s interesting is that the envelope is no more. And according to research conducted by Google itself, they found that people did not mind losing the envelope.

The redesigned Gmail icon. Source: Google

Google also wanted to lose the predominant red element from the new logo, but again, research stopped them from doing that as it was more in line with what people wanted. Here’s Fast Company reporting Google’s decision:

toyed with losing the trademark Gmail “M” at one point and even thought about moving away from the traditional Gmail red but found people reacted negatively to both of those changes. To their surprise, though, they discovered the logo’s long-standing envelope element wasn’t as critical to the design as they had anticipated.

It’s worth noting that the G-Suite rebranding and the logo redesigns are keeping the interface elements pretty much untouched. Instead of redesigning the interface, Google is combining all the services together. You will be able to collaborate on Google Sheets documents with colleagues right from a Google Chat interface.

Along with Gmail, Google has also redesigned Calendar, Drive, Sheets, and Meet logos, which has kind of made it difficult to differentiate between all of them.

Explaining the redesign and the rebranding, Google’s Vice President and General manager of Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) says:

“This is the moment in which we break free from defining the structure and the role of our offerings in terms that were invented by somebody else in a very different era,”

I agree. But now I also miss the envelope.