Yahoo considering rebranding?

This is the logo you may be soon looking at whenever you point your browser to yahoo.com

The Internet giant have not yet made an official announcement about any change on their identity, but a TechCrunch reader was asked to give a feedback on a new Yahoo! logo while answering an online survey.

Besides the change of color from purple to a deep blue, which actually still has a lot of purple in it, the most noticeable feature change is the choice for a sans-serif type giving a much more “vertical” look to the new brand. I can’t say that I don’t like it, because the new brand does appeal to me, but letting the Yahoo! serifs go is quite a shame; and they have such a well established identity that I think the great majority of users will miss the old version.

Take a look at the question and compare both versions:

One thing is certain, the question in itself is not a guarantee that any change will happen. According to TechCrunch, here’s what a Yahoo! spokesperson said about the online survey:

Yahoo! is continually developing and testing new concepts in an effort to offer the most delightful experiences for users and advertisers, but we don’t have anything new to announce at this time.

Whenever a well know international brand such as Yahoo! starts to think about re-branding, they tend to pick one of two quite established strategies: they either keep the entire process top-secret and risk receiving a negative feedback once the new brand is out there, or they take on a safer route by asking the opinion of some of their most valuable users.

It seems Yahoo! has chosen the second strategy; the safest path into re-branding. What do you think is the best way of revamping a business identity, the secret or open way? What about the new Yahoo logo, what are your thoughts about it? Let us know in the comments.

Ray Vellest

Ray Vellest is a brand identity specialist based in London and working with organizations and individuals from all over the world. Ray’s approach to identity design position his clients as leaders of their industries while creating a valuable long-term asset for their businesses. Follow @rayvellest on Twitter to keep up with his latest updates.