Google's flatter logo released by accident

Love it or hate it, there's no denying that flat design is big news in the creative world at the moment. And so the design world jumped on this variation of Google's logo design (above), which was spotted by Ars Technica in the latest Chrome beta for Android.

Things got even more exciting when The Verge said a Google source had told them this logo was intended to be used "in instances where the beveled logo may not display well".

So was this a secret rollout of a brand new Google logo? Well it appears not. The Verge has now updated its original post and confirmed that the distinctly two-dimensional logo - which has already been pulled from the Chrome for Android beta - is purely meant for use on printed and corporate materials. So it looks like its online use was pure accident.

Still it's interesting to see such a 'flat' identity appearing on our screens, and we wonder if this could be a future direction for the Google logo. Here's a look back at the evolution of the logo to put this possibility into context:

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What do you think of Google's new logo design? Let us know in the comments box below!