On Monday, Elon Musk and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino introduced a new logo for the social media platform, replacing the iconic blue bird with a white “X” set against a black backdrop.
“X is here! Let’s do this,” Yaccarino announced via a tweet, sharing an image of the logo displayed on the facade of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.
Both Yaccarino’s and Musk’s Twitter accounts now feature the new X logo, though the old blue bird continues to appear throughout the platform.
The hashtag “#GoodbyeTwitter” began trending as many users voiced their disapproval of the revamped branding.
Prior to the unveiling, Musk expressed his desire to change the platform’s logo in a Twitter post on Sunday. He solicited feedback from his millions of followers regarding a potential shift in the site’s dominant color from blue to black.
Along with the discussion of the logo, Musk shared an image of a stylized “X” against a background resembling outer space. He referred to the design as the “interim X logo” and indicated that the transition from the Twitter brand would soon commence, gradually phasing out the bird imagery.
When asked by a user about what tweets will be called under the new branding, Musk responded with “x’s.”
The original Twitter logo was crafted in 2012 by a design team of three individuals. Martin Grasser, one of the designers, tweeted that the logo was created to be simple, balanced, and easily recognizable at small sizes, comparing it to a lowercase “e.”
Before finalizing his acquisition of Twitter last year, Musk mentioned that owning the platform would accelerate his vision of creating an “everything app” named X by three to five years.
Musk reclaimed x.com from PayPal in 2017, citing its “sentimental value.” He originally co-founded x.com in 1999 as an online banking service, which later evolved into PayPal.
While Twitter’s official page has been updated to reflect the new name “X,” the domain x.com is currently inactive.
Yaccarino emphasized on Sunday that “X represents the future of unlimited interactivity,” which includes audio, video, messaging, and banking, aiming to establish a global marketplace for ideas and services.
Since taking over as CEO on June 5, Yaccarino, a former advertising chief at NBCUniversal, has been tasked with navigating Twitter through significant challenges, including a downturn in advertising revenue.
The company has encountered tumultuous periods since Musk’s acquisition, marked by layoffs and a notable exodus of advertisers, alongside the emergence of Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
