Discover How the Iconic Discord Symbol Evolved into its Current Form
The Discord logo is one of the most well-known icons today, especially among the gaming community. But what is this symbol? Is it a crab, or something else entirely? And more importantly, who is the brand represented by this logo?
Well, Discord is a comparatively new social media platform that was introduced in 2015, geared as a platform for gamers to connect, or for the gaming community at large. And in recent years, it has become quite popular amongst youngsters.
Creating a new social media platform and making it a success is far from easy in today’s world. Ever since Myspace and Facebook showed that the world was yearning for an innovative social media experience, many have tried to rise up and compete with these existing platforms.
However, the vast majority of them failed to create an exceptional platform, and quickly fell victim to the big social media companies. Discord was one of the lucky few to survive.
So, let’s take a look at Discord and its iconic symbol’s rise to fame.
1- How Did the Discord Logo Came to Be?
Discord was first introduced as a service to exchange text, voice, and videos among its members. The first version of the platform was released in 2015, and was designed to work on all major operating systems and supported a variety of languages.
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It was initially geared towards the gaming community, to both hobbyists and professional e-sports players. However, it soon expanded to include people for a variety of hobbies besides gaming.
The Discord logo is easily identifiable, one of a number of reasons the symbol is so iconic. The style used here is similar to that of the combination types of logos, and the design is made up of two different parts – the wordmark and the symbol. On the left, there is the iconic character “Clyde”, while on the right is the wordmark with the name “DISCORD” written in a stylized font.
The design of the logo character is said to resemble a game controller, which can be true as the platform was originally meant for gamers. This kind of abstract design is only possible when your hired logo design services are experts are embedding their designs with subtle, subliminal hints.
1.1- Discord Logo Color Palette
The color scheme is a unique one for the discord logo. The old Discord logo used a simple blue and white color scheme. That provided a pleasing contrast between the two colors, which made for a pleasing brand logo to look at.
The new Discord logo on the other hand, swapped the plain blue with a custom blue-purple shade called Blurple. Contrasting sharply with the white of the background, the logo has a stronger visual impact on viewers, which is something everyone who learns how to design a logo needs to ensure in their designs.
1.2- Discord Logo Font
The logo fonts used for the old Discord logo were a custom typeface based on the traditional Uni Sans Heavy and Compose Black. The letters are written in bold uppercase, and the letter “D” was modified to convey the custom font’s uniqueness. An interesting fact about the letter “D” is that it looks like the Hebrew character “Peh”, which in English can be pronounced as either an “F” or a “P”.
The new Discord logo is another custom job, built on the design of Ginto, according to the official Discord style guide. The letters are bolder, and the design has better readability than before, making for better recognition and visibility.
1.3- Discord Logo Meaning
The chosen color combinations for both of these variants are meant to convey creativity, freedom of expression, and seamless communication. You will see many messaging platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Zoom and more use shades of blue in their design to give a calm and soothing feeling to their logos.
The designers also changed the color in 2021 to convey the intended Discord logo meaning by using a unique lilac-blue shade of color, in order to differentiate the logo from that of the competition.
2- The Discord Logo History and The Rise of an Innovative Social Media Platform
Discord has seen quite a rise in its fame in recent years. Providing a different layout and mode of communication than most popular social media platforms, it was an instant hit with people from the beginning. The best part about Discord is that it allows you to form separate threads, or channels covering different topics, so that you can keep better track of your communication and activities.
Talking about the admin side, Discord allows admins to specify what channels each member can view in their community, which makes for easier management of your Discord server. This innovative form of social media communication meant that many communities found it was easier to manage and moderate their communications on Discord, especially those that require a lot of moderation, such as gaming discussions etcetera.
Overall, the social media platform is perfectly represented by its unique and quirky-looking Discord logo, which is instantly recognizable by anyone who has ever seen it before.
3- The Discord Logo Evolution and the Variations it Spawned
Let’s have a look at the Discord logo evolution, discover the variants we have seen the platform use since its inception, and understand how the current logo represents the platform perfectly.
3.1- The Old Discord Logo, or the Original Brand Logo
The old Discord logo was released in 2015, at the launch of the platform. The original brand symbol featured a simple speech bubble on the left, with the image of Clyde placed within it. The character was colored white, over a dark blue background.
To the right of the image, was the wordmark. It featured the company’s name in bold font, and was written using the same blue as the speech bubble. Overall, the design was quite straightforward, and was a good representation of a social media platform designed for gamers and the gaming community at large.
However, the design had some of the people confused, who couldn’t figure out what Clyde’s shape represented. The fact that it was supposed to be a handheld gaming controller was marred by the fact that the top shape had slight gaps, which made the design look like that of a cartoon crab.
However, despite that, the logo remained for nearly six years before the brand decided to modify the original Discord logo. Today, many large media companies have their own Discord servers and you’ll often see popular searches for Discord in the context of finding the right social media icons for business cards.
3.2- The New Discord Logo
In 2021, to celebrate Discord’s 6th anniversary, the company decided to update its logo, addressing the shortcomings of the previous one while modifying it for the modern design aesthetics. The new Discord logo design changed the look of both Clyde, as well as the brand wordmark.
Gone was the speech bubble outline around the character. Instead, a blue-purple (Blurple) Clyde graced the design of the logo. The new wordmark spelled the name of the company, using a modified new font and design style. One of the major differences between the old Discord logo vs. new was that now, only the first letter of the wordmark was in uppercase, while the rest were all in lowercase.
The new Discord logo design was more minimalistic, and conformed better with modern logo design trends. Moreover, the design now looked more like the modern gaming controllers, making for a better intuitive response from the users.
3.3- Discord Logo Icons
Alongside the main logo, the platform also sported a few icons to represent it on the internet. Like many other digital platforms in recent years, Discord hasn’t felt the need to utilize any Christmas or Halloween marketing ideas to revamp their logo with seasonal variants for holidays or other commemorative events.
For the most part, the graphic part of the logo, that is the image of Clyde, was used as the icon to represent the platform around the web. From 2015-2021, the earlier symbol featuring a speech bubble bound Clyde was used.
However, when the logo was updated in 2021, the icon too was updated to reflect the change.
For both of the icon variants, there were a variety of styles that were used, depending on the situation. However, they all were easy to relate to the main Discord logo. Moreover, brands can use an online Discord icon maker to create the perfect Discord icon to add to their websites.
4- Using an Online Discord Logo Maker to Create Your Discord Icon
When you create an online server on Discord, you are allowed to create and add a personalized avatar to represent it instead of Clyde. Many online Discord logo makers allow you to create a stylized image which is the perfect size for the platform.
However, it is not required to have a customized icon for your server. Many popular discord users use the default imagery, instead of relying on a generic or tool-designed symbol. Others meanwhile, opt to use a Discord icon maker or an independent designer to create a personal symbol for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
The most popular theory is that the logo mimics a custom game controller, with downward curving grips. The back features a smiling face, and is named “Clyde” by the platform.
While Discord themselves have set a minimum age limit of 13 years for their users, they do not ask their users to verify their age when they sign up.
Discord decided to change its logo in 2021, its first change since its inception in 2015. In order to celebrate 6 years as a social media platform, the company updated its logo and UI.
Wumpus is an AI-based bot incorporated within Discord which appears to you whenever you might be trying to use an option not supported by the platform.
The design of the logo character, Clyde, is meant to mimic the profile of a gaming controller. The light and fresh color combinations used for the logo design represent freedom and creativity.
The original Discord logo design featuring Clyde looked similar to that of a smiling crab. However, the recent iteration has been streamlined to remove this confusion.
The mix of lilac and blue color used for the Discord logo is called Blurple (HEX #7289DA), and it is used in combination with Full White (HEX #FFFFF)
Conclusion
Now that you know how the Discord logo came to be, and its evolution through the years, you might understand the value of a well-designed logo for a business.
If you too desire such a well-representing logo for your business, then Logo Poppin’s expert designers can help you create the perfect logo to represent your brand aesthetics.
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Logopoppin
Logopoppin is a graphic design agency that specializes in logo designing, web development, video production and advanced branding services. We love to innovate businesses with new age technologies, allowing them to improve their visual reputation.
