YouTube Logo Update: Video-Sharing Website Unveils New Look
After over a decade, YouTube has undergone a major makeover not just with the website's interface but also with its iconic logo. The redesign is expected to give a better user experience by giving the site a consistent look across desktop and mobile devices.
Many people woke up on Tuesday to find the video-sharing website sporting a new look. The changes affected nearly everything about the website, even its logo which it has used for the last 12 years.
The new logo now uses the iconic "Play" icon without the site's name. In the company's own words, "the updated Logo combines a cleaned up version of the YouTube wordmark and Icon, creating a more flexible design that works better across a variety of devices, even on the tiniest screens".
While the redesign will certainly take a while to get used to, it is admittedly slicker than its predecessor. It maximizes screen space and eliminates clutter while at the same time appears more user-friendly.
It seems that the only aspect of the website that wasn't affected was the player itself with many of its controls still intact and still in their respective locations. Everything else, however, has gotten a bit of a makeover.
The YouTube app also received a few upgrades. It now has a cleaner user interface with the navigation buttons moved to the bottom of the screen making them easily accessible. Users can also speed up and slow down the playback of a video on the app — something that desktop users have been able to do for quite some time.
The Alphabet-owned service also said they are experimenting with gesture controls such as swiping right to skip a video. However, these features are still in the works and will not be available for some time.
Nevertheless, users can already fast forward or rewind 10 seconds by double-tapping the right or left side of a video which is a handy feature, especially when playing music with a catchy hook.
According to the company's chief product officer, Neal Mohan, they will bring a "new level of functionality and a more consistent look" for YouTube across all platforms. He also said that the website will continue to release updates and will do so for the rest of the year.