Opera rebrands with elegant new identity

To celebrate their 20th birthday, Opera are launching a new brand identity, the most visually striking element of which, is their new logo.

Gone is the familiar high-contrast ‘O’, to be replaced with a chunky, three dimensional ring; intended to convey the idea of Opera as a conduit to the Web, and to the information, entertainment, and services, therein.

Throughout its life, Opera’s oldstyle ‘O’ has represented the company in one stylized form or another. The new, simplified form is inline with the trend away from diverse logotypes towards a more corporate geometric sans.

[pullquote]this is an identity that moves the company forward, whilst properly honoring the brand’s history[/pullquote]

In Opera’s case, what’s particularly successful about the design, is that it implies simplification, whilst retaining the essence of prior designs. The curves of the three dimensional ring taper the top and bottom of the shape, recalling the contrast in the earlier form. Unlike the recent rebrands of Facebook, and Google, this is an identity that moves the company forward, whilst properly honoring the brand’s history.

Designed over the last year by Anti, with creative strategy work by DixonBaxi, the new identity is rolling out on Opera Mini, followed by the company’s other departments over the coming months.

Opera’s reputation is as an alternative browser, but that belies the true scale of the enterprise; Opera currently boasts over a billion users each month. They’re hoping this rebrand will grow them further. According to Sean D’Arcy, Opera’s VP of global marketing and distribution: “[They] want to enable more people, in more places, to experience what matters, when it matters most.”

Ben Moss

Ben Moss has designed and coded work for award-winning startups, and global names including IBM, UBS, and the FBI. When he’s not in front of a screen he’s probably out trail-running.