Yelp has served up a new logo and suite of app icons fresh out the kitchen, but not everyone wants a second helping.
The new look launched this week in conjunction with updates the food hub made to their platform at large, which include revamping in-app hiring functionalities for businesses. But the polarizing brand refresh has stoked the ongoing flat vs. 3D logo debate that’s been dominating the recent design discourse, as the new logos for Yelp, Yelp Biz, Yelp Waitlist, and Yelp Rez include embossing and shadows that create a glossy, puffy feel.
The Yelp wordmark itself has been reimagined with wider curves, though it maintains the rounded shapes of the original typeface. Meanwhile, the classic Yelp flourish has endured with slight modifications.
Ultimately, the Yelp team wanted to create a single visual language through consistent symbol styles and compositions that would foster cohesion between the four app icons while establishing a visual hierarchy amongst the designs placing the primary Yelp app symbol at the helm.
Yelp preempted the flat-logoers’ wrath with an explanation on Medium for its 3D design where they acknowledge that while flat UI might be the current industry standard, they wanted to create a style that was “unconventional and a bold splash for a digital landscape filled with flat design.”
“This glossy, embossed, and rich visual language is a new style we’re excited to introduce where the texture of our app icons feel tactile and vibrantly fresh,” they added. “This style is unconventional and a bold splash for a digital landscape filled with flat design.”
Alas, the question remains: is this rebrand a fresh makeover that disrupts a landscape overrun with flat design? Or is it a tired regression to retro roots made in the name of modernized nostalgia?
