Authenticating apps is an annoying but seemingly necessary feature of modern life. Lots of apps now require it and various apps are trying to get us to use their authenticator services. All except Facebook (sorry, Meta), who recently told us that users can no longer authenticate via its own app (which didn't work anyway) and that we'll need a third-party authenticator. That's where Google's Authenticator comes in.
The Google Authenticator app was previously grey (see above, left), showed Google's 'G' with a lock, and was, let's face it, on the dull side. Although it was an outlier when compared to Google's other apps, which many have complained are too similar looking (see below).
The new design for the app was announced recently and the fresh design (see above, right) is now rolling out across devices.
Consistently good or too similar? (Image credit: Google)
The new logo is in line with Google's colour palette, but is distinct enough to stand out on my homescreen. It consists of three interlocking lines, with two 'v' shapes in the same colour, one red, one blue, and the remaining 'v' consisting of one green and one yellow line. The design detail of the colour overlap pleases me, and crucially, differentiate it from the Slack logo (see below).
The Authenticator stands out like a fun firework (yes, we're now calling it The Authenticator) (Image credit: Future)
Is The Authenticator logo in a similar vein to the Slack logo? Yes. But does it brighten up my homescreen and make authenticating apps just a little bit more exciting? Also yes. Does this improve my life? Yes, a little bit. It's marginal okay, but I'll take it.
For more on Google's logos and design language, you can see Google's Material You series of videos, the first of which is below.
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Rosie Hilder is Creative Bloq's Deputy Editor. After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016. Since then, she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts, 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. In 2018, she joined Creative Bloq, where she now assists with the daily management of the site, including growing the site's reach, getting involved in events, such as judging the Brand Impact Awards, and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can.
