> You don't even see it's Firefox anymore

Are Mozilla's designers simply following the 'debranding' or 'decorporatizing' trend? [1] [2]

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/the-age...

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17649985

Opened that Atlantic article and it prompted my phone for camera a d microphone permissions.

The new icons aren’t intended for Firefox itself; they’re intended for projects like Quantum, or developer tools, or other parts of the FF ecosystem that should look “Firefox-y.”

What happend is that web design got more professional compared to times when FF started out as a brand, and they want to appeal to web designers (and graphic designers entering the field) and the overall design community, which has a bias towards modern minimal designs, where Firefox doesn't really fit in.

Their Mozilla rebrand was fresh. It could be a good idea to start a new brand, and develop the name and shapes together, without the limitations of the existing Firefox brand. With all the design talent surrounding them, they could come up with something stunning.

If they don't have anything to design they are fired and have to go find another job. So they actively look for things to design and propose changes.

Remember the moz://a brand change? I wonder if there is any way to measure the benefits of it, except for the paychecks to the designers.

Edit: I realized that it could be another thing. They are signalling they are alive and well. Similar to buying a 200k sport car. See how much money I can afford to do without?

This often works out poorly. Tide lost market share / suffered pushback when it changed it's branding / colors even a little bit.

https://hbr.org/2017/01/customer-loyalty-is-overrated