Facebook seems to be having fun giving tweaks to its famous icons these days. A couple of months ago, the globe icon for notifications shifted to only the part of the world the user is in, not restricting the view to America.
And now, the latest icon to get a change, a very simple, and very substantial, one at that, is the 'Friends' icon of the social networking site. The icon has previously shown a male's silhouette in Facebook's trademark blue, with a female silhouette behind it.
The female silhouette has also appeared to be noticeably smaller than the male one. It's the 'Friends' icon, but it does not seem to convey a friendly message.
The new version shows the two silhouettes on the same level, the female moved forward, side by side with the male. That looks more like friends now, doesn't it?
Also modified is the helmet-like head of the female silhouette, showing a hairstyle that looks more like a bob.
Caitlin Winner, Facebook's design manager, said she has experimented with a lot of different positions before she was satisfied.
Co-workers on Facebook have helped her make the changes. The design manager saw the separate image files for the two silhouettes, and saw that the male one had a full, regular upper area, while the female had a dent on the shoulder.
A graduate of a women's college, Winner wrote in her blog that it's difficult not to see the underlying symbollism of the icon. She opted to make the change.
The tweak is a follow-up to Facebook's logo update just a few days ago. The company said it hopes to make Facebook look more contemporary and reachable with its new logo.
With its 'Friends' and 'Notifications' icons tweaked on the right directions, it's a good start for Facebook's individuality and equality mission. At least, in terms of aesthetics.
