In The Beatles’ 1966 trippy classic song “Tomorrow Never Knows,” John Lennon advised listeners to “Listen to the color of your dreams.” Fast forward 53 years, and the business world has made “Listen to the color of your brands” another sound suggestion. Despite the overwhelming regard for blue in the world of color psychology and its vast presence in commercial logos, Facebook announced it is moving away from the hue in favor of more white for its mobile app layout and interface, with the same change coming to its desktop site in the coming months.
The alteration is among many that the technological titan is going to be introducing this year, all in the name of enhancing its standing among the Big Four. While the other modifications, including a Secret Crush feature, are newsworthy, the color change (something that many might overlook) deserves some attention because of the standing that blue has acquired. As noted in an account by The Telegraph, the swap is a way for Facebook to “move on from a series of scandals,” a list that’s, well, pretty lengthy.
We just announced a fresh, new design for Facebook that makes communities as central as friends. FB5 is simpler, faster, more immersive and makes it easier to find what you're looking for and get to your most-used features. #f82019 pic.twitter.com/YWIGEnpO4M
— Meta (@Meta) April 30, 2019
The publication stops short of condemning Facebook for those troubles, but notes how de-emphasizing blue could seem an odd move among many who have come to see the hue as a reliable business-centric shade. Will the new choice, then, succeed in helping Facebook to present a “much cleaner look and tool,” as CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared at his company’s F8 developer conference?
We’re not sure how much a simple color swap will help the brand’s ailing reputation. But in terms of color perception, white is certainly no slouch, and since it is already in use by Facebook, one could presume that end-users, after a few uses of the new interface, will simply accept the variation and move on. While Facebook holds immense sway in the tech and social worlds, as long as people can still use it for whatever designated purposes they wish (we are eager to see how the Secret Crush element works, by the way), they will likely not gripe.
