Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has announced a huge transformation of the globally recognised Twitter brand. The familiar blue bird, a symbol that has been integral to Twitter’s brand identity since its inception in 2006, is set to be replaced with an ‘X’.
Elon Musk seems to have a thing for the letter ‘X’. He used it when he started X.com, a company that later became PayPal. He also chose ‘X’ for his space company, SpaceX. Even his kids’ names, X Æ A-Xii and Exa Dark Sideræl, show how much he likes the letter ‘X’. Even Elon admins that he really likes the letter ‘X’…
Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X pic.twitter.com/nwB2tEfLr8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
While Twitter’s brand metamorphosis to ‘X’, might be a bold move, it begs the question: What will the new logo look like? Elon asked the online community to come up with a logo and this was his brief.
Like this but X pic.twitter.com/PRLMMA2lYl
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Musk refrained from divulging specifics about the new logo’s appearance. However, he did highlight a gif shared posted by Twitter user Sawyer Merritt. This gif showcased a logo previously used for Merritt’s now-defunct podcast, suggesting this could be the design Musk has in mind.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
The announcement has been met with a wave of resistance from the Twitter community, resulting in the trending hashtag, ‘#RIPTwitter’. But as Musk is set to flaunt his shiny new ‘X’, the internet is throwing virtual funerals online.
ELON KILLED THE BLUE BIRD #RIPTwitter pic.twitter.com/tuiQX2wL9K
— Everything Out Of Context (@EverythingOOC) July 23, 2023
The verdict on Twitter’s dramatic rebranding is still out and only time will tell if this major experiment marks the beginning of the end or the spark of a revitalisation. Ultimately, it seems that Twitter’s fate lies in its ability to convince users to embrace this ‘X factor’.
