Hundreds of companies go through a rebrand. The thing about Rebranding, is that it is often risky.
Steemit Beta, while not a total representation of the final product, we always knew that there was a possibility for big changes.
By rebranding, Steemit is taking a sort of risk, as for any rebrand move out there. You always risk alienating your audience by presenting an image that is unexpected, or just new.
Now, as of Nov 1 (The day I write this) I've noticed some changes to steemit's visual representation. This may change in the future, who knows (except the developers of course)?
Let's take a look at the very first change that we notice.
The color Scheme.
On one hand, we have the old color scheme which was a Navy blue, a light blue and of course white.
I was always a fan of how the website used this old color scheme. The way the website was in white and only a few elements where actually using the blues gave a sense of professionalism and commercial. The site felt very reliable, and very clean. It helped focus on what was most important, and that was user content. I also felt a sense of secureness. Reliability.
The new color scheme is slightly different, opting in for a deeply saturated blue, which is actually something that I've been doing lately for my compositions. It's a stand in for black, adding in a bit of flavor if you will. This is most likely the color they will be using in place of the old navy color, and it really inspires the feeling of modernism. The teal is also complementary to this color, and also instills a feel of Cutting edge. But again, major usage of white instills the feeling of minimalism and focusing on what's important. User content.
I actually support the change in the color scheme. Although there is a sense of "hipness" to it, will these be the colors steemit will be using down the line in 5 years? How about 10? When you opt into these more popular colors, you are not really contributing to one of the most important design principles. Timelessness.
For the time being though, it feels good. The site looks good, even though there aren't many changes. I do feel something from these colors. And it feels a bit more inspiring. It feels more modern.
The logo
Now, this is something that I think will be subject to skepticism and criticism.
The new logo is very simple. Something that I feel makes the best logos of all time. It looks like a little ghost with a helmet or mohawk.
Or perhaps, thats a steam cloud formed into an S?
It's very hard to see how this graphic represents Steemit.
When I design my logos. I try to draft concepts that instill what the company is and what it does. I keep my logos simple for 2 reasons, 1 to keep things simple is a good design principle, 2 to help keep the logo easy to remember.
But perhaps this is a logo design that will define itself over time. There are plenty of logos out there that do not reflect what the company or project is about. One thing is certain, steemit will be using this logo for a long time to come. It's been trademarked already.
My main criticism for this logo: How does steemit fit into this graphic?
There some things that I really like about it though. I like the flat and minimal design flow it uses.
Conclusion
There will be people who will simply not like or understand these new changes. Be it the logo, or the design choices for the website. This will be always the case with a rebrand.
I personally do not understand the logo, but that's because I've been a steemit user for months. I'm still used to the only design. So my feeling of not understanding this logo, or what it has to do with steemit, will not be true for everyone else, especially new users.
It feels nice. I feel that posts and graphics that have flat design elements will feel really at home with the rest of the site. I know that I will be able to design some really interesting graphics that will harmonize well with the site.
It's good, I like it, an improvement. Now, when can we expect prices to rise on steem?
That's it for this post folks, tell me what you think.
What do you guys think? What are your thoughts on the changes to steemit?