Google Hangouts Logo

Google Hangouts Logo PNG

Communication is the key factor behind the visual identity of a messaging service. It is attractive because the Google Hangouts logo partly represents the identity of the digital family of the main virtual giant. The emblem contains classic messenger elements.

Meaning and History

To compete with platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage, Google has created a product with similar capabilities called Hangouts. It was introduced in 2013 at the Google I/O conference and initially combined several functions. It was a chat, a voice messaging platform, and a service for remote video meetings in real time.

The impetus for the emergence of a new product was a too disparate set of applications for exchanging information: Google Talk (based on XMPP) and Google+ Messenger. The result of their merger was Google Hangouts. Then the copyright holder experimented a lot, closing some projects and launching others, but still could not keep up with the popularity of large competitors with similar functions. Therefore, in 2017, the Hangouts program was split into two parallel services: Meet (for video conferencing) and Chat (for instant text messaging). Their main user group was to be business customers.

In 2018, Google announced that it was phasing out classic Hangouts and would be permanently disabled throughout 2019. However, outraged users made their adjustments, due to which the liquidation of the service was postponed to 2020. But then the unpredictable situation with the coronavirus pandemic intervened, and the digital giant announced that the app would remain a consumer-grade product for those with standard accounts. In parallel with this, he attracts the audience to Meet and Chat, making them free for everyone.

So the operation of this service will soon, apparently, be stopped – when Google transfers the majority of users to its new services. Therefore, the issue of the elimination of the program is still relevant. It can be closed at any moment, so the parent company cares little about the Hangouts identity, promoting Chat based on it more. In total, the service has five logos.

What is Google Hangouts?

Google Hangouts is a communication service for online text messaging and video meetings. It appeared in the Internet giant’s proprietary software package in 2013 based on Talk and in 2017, split into two independent projects: Meet and Chat. The first is for direct video conferencing; the second is an instant text messaging. In 2020, its liquidation was initiated, which is expected to be completed shortly.

2005 – 2013

Since the Talk service became the fundamental basis for Hangouts, its visual identity sign has been considered. It consists of a lowercase inscription made up of a combination of multi-colored letters: “t” was colored blue, “a” red, “l” yellow, “k” green. These are Google’s corporate colors, which indicate that the application is part of the personal portfolio of an Internet company. The font was even and angular, without serifs. At the end of the word was a white dialog bubble of a classic round shape with a bottom stroke. Inside it was set off by a gray stripe in a crescent shape.

2013 – 2014

After merging several programs into Hangouts, its identity was completely overhauled. The rebranding resulted in a new logo that had no text. A hint of his presence was large quotation marks in the form of two white commas. They were housed in a green gradient speech bubble.

2014 – 2020

The Hangouts platform logo has been redesigned with the release of Android Lollipop. The developers left it as it was, focusing on color. They made the green more intense and added shadows to the quotation marks to give them a three-dimensional dimension. There were no other changes. After all, it was assumed that Google 2020 would completely stop the development of this service and finally eliminate it, having previously divided it into two parallel streams: Meet and Chat.

Font and Colors

In the short time that the Google Hangouts service has existed, its visual identity has constantly varied. This is due to the decisions of the parent company either to open, merge, or close the project. The one thing that all options have in common is simplicity. The emblem’s design is minimalistic – it concentrates only on thematic elements hinting at the main direction of the web platform.

The text is present only in the original version – in the logo of the Talk service, the Hangouts prototype. The lettering was done with the Struktur Pro Bold typeface from FontSite Inc. The base palette includes green, although the early logo contains yellow, blue, and red. They are complemented by neutral white.

Google Hangouts color codes