The topic Google’s new gradient icons for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and other apps are radical… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
So far, five Google icons have undergone gradient updates. 9to5Google can now report on a complete gradient redesign for Gmail and other Google Workspace apps.
according to the data sources familiar with the matter, all Google Workspace apps are getting a big overhaul. There are two overarching themes at play. The gradient effect found in the Google ‘G,’ Gemini, Home, Photos, and Maps is present throughout to reflect the presence of AI-powered features.
Google is addressing a major criticism of the previous icon set by making everything more distinct in terms of color and shape. Last generation’s mandate of including all four company colors in icons is clearly gone. The page container has also been removed for most apps to allow for larger, more unique icons.
Drive no longer has red, just the classic green, yellow, and blue that match the three editor apps. The exterior is a very rounded triangle that almost feels bulbous, but we find a sharp one at the center.
Like before, Google’s editor apps each use a single predominant color. The Docs icon remains a vertical piece of paper, but Sheets and Slides switch to landscape in a clever reflection of the actual apps.
The video calling app sees a huge departure from the current design. It’s still a video camera, but yellow is the predominant color. Why Google chose that color is not very obvious.
Google Chat sees the same overhaul with a pill-shaped message bubble that has a friendly smile. Green is presumably an homage to Hangouts.
The ‘M’ envelope shape of the new Gmail icon is not too different from what we have today, though it’s a little bit more rounded. Red is the predominant color, with only a little bit of yellow, green, and blue. This is the right call and makes the icon much more identifiable and unique. Of the new icons, Gmail is the only one with the four Google colors.
Calendar noticeably returns to the older icon design with a skeuomorphic reference to the flip-style object. The four-color exterior container is gone, with classic blue returning. It’s absolutely a throwback.
There’s still a checkmark for Tasks, but the overall container is not very obvious to my eye. It could be a button that you tap when you’ve completed a reminder. Like Calendar, blue is the primary color.
The change is obviously better when you look at the Meet/Chat/Gmail/Calendar row. Switching from a bunch of icons that look extremely similar at first to icons that are easy to differentiate at a glance is a huge improvement.
Of course, going to a whole bunch of extremely similar icons in the first place was dumb, but the second best time to fix things is today.
Google has removed the page background to focus on the light bulb, which has quite a bit of detail.
Voice retains the same shape as before, but everything is more rounded. The phone reflects how the app is primarily for calling and business customers rather than consumers. That said, its use of light green matches Google Chat.
This icon drops the paper motif for multiple choice bubbles, though purple remains the main color.
However, Sites switches from a dark blue to a lighter one, with the horizontal switch reflecting desktop web.