The YouTube logo hasn't changed a huge amount over the years. In fact, compared to some of the social media and internet startups that emerged around the same time, it's been a lesson in restraint when it comes to updating a logo – and that may be why it's been able to avoid the outrage that tends to greet many logo makeovers.
They opted for a logotype with the brand's name in a very old font, Alternate Gothic number two. Despite being branded as a single word, YouTube was split in two: the first half of the name in black, while “Tube” appeared in white, in a rectangular box that was rounded enough and had just enough of a gradient to clearly be interpreted as a television.It would be six years before the YouTube logo was tweaked at all – and it was, it finally was, it was a very minor change.
Like I said, that shadow effect wouldn't last long. In 2013, the YouTube logo came in for another quite minor change. That shadow was dropped, and the red background also got brighter. Here, YouTube was following the general trend for simpler, more minimalist logos, ensuring it stayed fresh.Just two years later, YouTube thought better of that lighter shade or red and darkened it down again.