Spotify's anniversary icon is bad design — but maybe great marketing
Spotify’s new anniversary icon is objectively bad design. It might be great marketing. 🙂
Different green, lower contrast, a disco ball texture that turns to pixel soup on your phone — designers are cringing. The readability issues are real. The brand deviation is real.
But scroll any social platform right now. Everyone is talking about Spotify.
1. The icon broke a cardinal rule most apps would never touch: don’t mess with the thing people tap 10 times a day.
2. Every complaint is a post. Every post is an impression. Every impression has "Spotify" and "20 years" in the same sentence. (even this one haha)
3. They didn’t design a pretty icon. They designed a conversation.
The design is bad. The marketing might not be. I’m sure the master of this craft, Guneet Singh, will correct me if I’m wrong. 😅
Alas, they’re changing it back next week — but when’s the last time an app icon change got this much attention?