Google Docs is an online word-processing service, created by Google in 2006 in order to help its users create and share various documents. The service is very popular among those, who work in collaborations. Today Google Docs has two sub-products, Google Sheets and Google Slides, which allow users to create presentations and graphics.
The predecessor of the now-famous word processor was a software, called Writely, launched in 2005z so the history of the Google Docs visual identity starts from there. Though the emblem we all know today has nothing in common with the first two versions.
The Writely logo was very friendly and slightly amateurish. The colorful three-dimensional pencil placed slightly diagonally was an underline for the wordmark in the lowercase letters. The pencil was executed in yellow, gray, and pink, while the nameplate featured a calm green color. The rounded sans-serif typeface made the whole logo look friendly and simple.
Google Docs appeared in 2006 and its first logo was designed in the same year. The first logo stayed with the software for quite a long time — six years. Executed in the orange, black, and white color palette, it was composed of an emblem with a signature wordmark under it.
The wordmark comprised two parts — Multicolor “Google” lettering and the orange “Docs”. The words featured completely did descent styles and sizes of the letters.
As for the emblem, it was a picture of a calendar, placed above a page. The yellow pencil was also there. A very detailed reflection of the service’s purpose and essence.
The logo, used by Google Docs from 2007 to 2010 was minimalistic and modern, with just a graphical element against a transparent background and no lettering at all. It was a lined notebook page, drawn in glossy gradients of gray and white, with bold accented contours in dark gray, which made a perfectly logical framing to the image.
The redesign of 2010 had introduced even a more laconic version of the Google Docs visual identity: the page was now drawn straight and flat, in vivid gradient shades of blue, with no lines or other marks on it. The main element, which made the badge recognizable was the upper right corner of the paper, which was bent. This corner will stay with the app for years.
In 2011 the logo of the application was changed again, with the concept fully repeating the previous version, yet the color palette was based on a more intense shade of blue, looking more professional and strong. And for the shapes and contours, they were barely refined. This version of the logo stayed with Google Docs for several months only.
The completely new style and concept for the Google Docs logo were introduced in 2012. Now it was made super minimalist and contemporary. The emblem featured a vertically placed rectangle, representing the document’s page, with its upper-right corner folded. The blue page featured four thick horizontal lines, standing for text. All the angles except for the folded one were rounded.
The new blue and white color palette of the logo was a reflection of professionalism and reliability. White added a sense of loyalty and trustworthiness.
The logo was redesigned in 2014. The style and concept remained untouched, as well as the color palette, which was only slightly refined. The main changes were made to the shape of the icon. The angles of the rectangle were more rounded than before and the folded corner was now also rounded.
As for the white text stripes, they are now thinner and narrower, and placed not in the middle of the page, but on its bottom part.
The modifications were so subtle that most customers probably didn’t even notice that the Google Docs logo changed at all. However, if you compare the two versions side by side, you will see that the design has become simpler. The four white lines were replaced by three ones. The folded end now had an angle on its end (in contrast to the rounded end in the previous version). Also, the color of the reverse side of the paper (as seen on the folded end) has now grown dark blue.