The Meaning Behind the Twitter Logo

Twitter started in 2006 as a platform on which business people could network. Initially, the first Twitter logo’s name and colors were unidentifiable from the sky-blue Twitter logo most consumers recognize today.

Before its launch, co-founder Noah Glass came up with a green logo with a splatter effect. In the vein of shorthand company names like Flickr and Tumblr, the company called itself “twtrr.”

However, Twitter introduced a different logo and name before launch, and the public met Twitter in 2006 with a logo that was one word, lowercase, and light blue on a white background. This logo was brighter, cleaner, and more modern than the more cluttered green “twtrr” logo.

The Twitter bird actually got its start on a stock photo website. The company found the original bird logo, created by Simon Oxley, on iStock. Twitter bought the image for $15, but it was never officially used as you cannot use iStock art as a logo.

Between 2006 and 2012, there were a few variations of Larry the Twitter bird (named after Boston Celtics basketball star Larry Bird). In 2012, Twitter decided on its last upgrade, keeping the avian iconography with a streamlined modern silhouette. Instead of a bird standing and looking off to the left with a simple white dot for an eye, this new logo was a bird in flight with a sleek, minimalist design.

In between these two versions were some interesting drafts. The company chose to drop the name from its logo altogether, relying on the bird’s instant recognizability to do the job, and it worked. You don’t need to read the word Twitter to think of the social media service; you only have to see that adorable bluebird.

Twitter is an innovative platform for users to post or tweet short declarations of 140 characters or less. These are known as tweets. Although the mascot’s name is originally in tribute to Larry Bird, the bird imagery also connotes birds’ chirping and their ability to communicate over long distances.

Larry the Twitter bird also looks quick and speedy, signifying the speed at which Twitter delivers users’ simple messages. Users’ default profile pictures are currently an egg shape — a nod to the avian-themed aesthetic that presents users without custom pictures as unhatched birds.

You know you’ve made it big when your company’s name is synonymous with the service you provide. This is the case for TupperwareⓇ and KleenexⓇ, and it’s also the case for Twitter.

More often, people will speak of the bird-related jargon when talking about the service Twitter provides. The posts are tweets, and the word tweet is also used as a verb, as in, “He tweeted yesterday.”

As Twitter became more popular and its name synonymous with its service, the logo became more pared-back and simple until it reached its final version – an elegant bluebird, signifying freedom of thoughts and ideas.

To create a bold logo for your business, you sometimes need to pick something as different from the service you’re providing as night and day. Twitter latched on to the avian theme and never looked back.

This tactic paid off — these days, the iconic logo is instantaneously recognizable as Twitter’s. People refer to “tweeting” and “tweets” without a second thought, even though these words didn’t relate to social media before 2006. These words are now interchangeable with the short statements you can make on Twitter’s platform. Through all the different versions of the Larry bird mascot, the same pluckiness shines through.

You can gain recognition for your company with a simple yet meaningful logo like Twitter. Get started by exploring the TRUiC business name generator and logo maker, and get started on your journey to a successful brand.