The new design was made to represent a “portal” to the web, as well as presumably to give the Opera web browser a more modern and human feel. Created in collaboration with Anti and DixonBaxi for Opera Software. Found on Brand New.

Although the Opera web browser isn’t as well known as its four larger competitors (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer), it still has a large user base located throughout the world – and like any other property on the internet, has to keep a simultaneously modern (if not subtly futuristic) and increasingly “human” look to it to stay relevant.

The new Opera logo does this well through using a largely geometric design that has a large amount of representation associated with it.

The logo – both new and old – is simply an ‘O’. For the old design, this was an entirely geometric design that was largely an abstract element, with little representative attributes. It was simply a letter. However, the new design manages to add some representative attributes in two ways: 1) its new drop shadow makes the design look less like a typographic letter, and more like a shape of some sort, and 2) its associated branding messages display the shape as a “portal”, with design elements running through the circle and being transformed in the process.

The designer(s) likely made these choices to bring Opera into a now-popular design and branding philosophy for technology companies – make everything seem more human. Technology has begun to be used more frequently by an ever-growing demographic, and the marketing of these companies has increasingly tapped into this potential for new users/buyers/etc. Getting more people interested in Opera and making Opera seem like a “welcoming” browser and brand were likely two important goals of the design – both of which I would say were successful!