hosted by WebHostingBuzz
the best host for design blogs
iTunes logo icon redesign
You have probably already seen it, iTunes icon has been redesigned recently. The good part of this redesign is that Apple is getting rid of the disc, which makes perfect sense (Windows still has a floppy disc as a save icon for Word 2007). The bad part is that the gradients in the new icon are aweful, anyway you can still change it for an alternative icon.
It’s a bad call on Apple’s part. Not only is the older icon (in my opinion!) better-looking, but people are used to it after many years. Suddenly changing something without a good reason is usually a bad call- the icon has more to do with branding than people realize. The old icon is something I immediately read as “iTunes!” but the new one looks like something that (gasp) Microsoft would design. :/
Well, the floppy disc icon has a reason I think. Simple explanation of this would be that a floppy disc is some kind of a standard for “save” icons. Users all over the world used to it so why should they change it? There is also the magnifying glass icon for searching. But you don’t use real magnifying glass for searching the website, do you?
I totally agree with Petr; the floppy disc is the save icon of the world. But, wouldn´t it be fun to have a “New Save Icon Contest”? What could the creative community come up with? It is not an easy task.
@SnowFoxCreation: I think that part of the reason for the redesign is that Apple is trying to turn iTunes into something new, with a social network and more.
@Petr: You made a good point, it is hard for an app to change an established icon like the “save” floppy disc. However I still think that it is an anachronism to use a floppy disc as save icon. The magnifying glass doesn’t refer to anything related to the tech-world, the floppy disc does.
I like the new icon – sleek and classy – the cd was old school!
Yes, I agree with Petr about the magnifying glass analogy, and with Mirko about the ‘techiness’ of the floppy disk. I also wonder if staying with the musical note is a bit old-fashioned and literal – after all, we use iTunes for a great deal more than music although music seems to be its core competence. I would love to see a new logo that transcended sheer function and went further along the social-networking-through-media path.
Man, I sound like a marketing guy! I promise I’m not.
Indeed Windows still has a floppy disc as a save icon. That reminds me that for years my father thought that, to save his work, he had to insert a floppy disk in the drive. True story. He is a bit more advanced now…
I like it. It was long overdue.
Just as most logo updates, this one is become more vague and trying too hard.
I like the new one much more. Altough it might be a bit to complex.