In 2006, Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams (no, not the whiskey guy) founded Twitter. Twitter’s current CEO, Dorsey, is the owner of the patent for creating the platform with Stone. Stone left Twitter to work on other business endeavors, but he declared in 2017 that he would be joining the platform again in an unspecified capacity. The original Twitter logo, a thin bird, cost just $15 when it was bought from a stock website in 2006. Three more iterations of the logo have since been created, with the most recent facelift making its debut in 2012. Early in the 2010s, the Larry name surfaced in Tweets from the platform; since then, the founders of Twitter have verified the narrative behind it.
Although the Larry name at Twitter pays homage to one of the co-founders’ hometown hero, it could also stand for the social media platform’s annual objective of retaining its championship pedigree in the tech industry. In 1980, Larry Bird was named NBA Rookie of the Year. Twitter saw a dramatic increase in monthly activity from 20,000 in 2006 to over 400,000 in 2007. This was 26 years later. A debutante’s outstanding performance in the social media expansion league
Twitter is one of the most well-known and established social media platforms worldwide, and it participates in daily global conversations. More than 330 million people tweet every month, sharing a wide range of subjects, viewpoints, memes, and trivia. The blue bird with a robin’s egg for a logo has been associated with Twitter since its creation and is easily recognizable to most people who have ever seen a tweet. Many people might not be aware, though, that this bird has a name and a backstory.
The origin of the name has been covered by numerous media outlets, such as Today Following conjecture and discussion on its own platform, Larry the bird’s moniker was officially revealed as NBA legend Larry Bird, a forward who spent thirteen seasons with the Boston Celtics, When the Celtics’ director of interactive media inquired about the name in August 2011, Biz Stone, one of the co-founders of Twitter, confirmed it. Stone, who was born in Boston and watched the Birds win three NBA championships and three MVP awards, was exposed to the term “bird” from an early age and probably connects it with greatness. It makes sense that Larry ended up being the moniker of Twitter’s tiny blue bird.
Despite the fact that Twitter boasts over 330 million monthly active users, how many people are aware of the person(s) that inspired the bird logo?
How the Twitter Bird logo came to be
In 2006, Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams founded Twitter. The concept of “using an SMS service to communicate with a small group” served as its inspiration. But at the time, there was still work to be done on the product and the name.
The first logos were wordmarks, which were simply the brand name written in a distinctive style. In 2005, the word “twttr” was written in green, gooey letters, and in 2006, the word “twitter” was written in bright blue letters for the public launch. These were undoubtedly products of their era, with their fat, rounded letters and obvious contempt for the simpler, modern design.
It would take four years for a bird to be officially trademarked, even though the concept for the Bird had most likely originated in 2006. Following several iterations, co-founder Biz Stone named the final version of the logo “Larry the Bird” in honor of Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird. Advertisement.
The 2010 version that was trademarked would go through several changes and additions to become the more recognizable Bird that Musk is currently dumping.
A perfect bird
The most recent iteration of The Bird was created in 2012 by San Francisco Bay area designer Martin Grasser. In many ways, it is the perfect logo.
Grasser altered the previous “Larry the Bird” logo so that the tiny, fluttering bird would remain recognizable even in the tiniest icons on a contemporary device. Its form is straightforward, its visual weight distribution is balanced (visual weight is the measure of the force that elements in an exert to attract the eye), and it is easily recalledall characteristics of a strong, impactful logo. Advertisement.
The original “Larry the Bird” had a caricatured appearance due to its longer, pointier tail, tuft of crown feathers, and all four feathers being different shapes that complicated its contours. Removing one feather and regularizing the remaining three helped the 2012 logo shed its excess baggage. It eliminated the mascot-like crown tuft altogether and shortened the tail to make the silhouette more compact.
Additionally, every line was created from a single type of curve: a circle. This made sure that the head, body, and tail blended together seamlessly. Examining the logo closely reveals that the curve that forms the top of the wing extends into the beak’s bottom. The proportions are visually appealing because of the consistently flowing curves.
In addition to its shape, the form and space’s distinctive light blue and white color schemewhich are frequently used interchangeablyalso helps when swiping the thumb through a screen full of logos to find the icon with the lowest chance of error
As Elon Musk drops the Bird for a fairly generic X, a look at the iconic Twitter logo and what made it great.
‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk announced yesterday, July 24, that the cherished blue Bird Twitter logo will be replaced with a slightly less creative glyph that mathematicians will never tire of looking at.
Musk had tweeted on July 23 that “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” and the following day he unveiled the new “X” logo.
It is unusual for a company to part with a globally recognizable iconic logo, particularly when that company still boasts millions of active members with at least 450 million monthly users. Time will tell how well the new logo turns out, but preliminary comments regarding its design and copyright potential are not encouraging. Advertisement.
A last toast as we say goodbye to the Twitter Bird
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