Google Maps gets another neat design update and we like it

Ever played a round in a pub quiz where you need to guess the name of the company based on pictures of their logos? If you haven't, you are missing out friends. It is much more satisfying than guessing the artist and title of a song based on the first few seconds of a beat. Some logos are just iconic, from the Nike tick and the Starbucks queen, to Google's 'G' and Apple's, well, Apple. 

It's always a bit of a risk then when companies mess around with well-loved and well-identified symbols, though. Don't worry, Google isn't changing the 'G', nor the main pin icon for Google Maps, but it has redesigned the iconic pins within Google Maps on its app for phones and the web. It's Okay team, it's not a bad redesign, not in our eyes anyway.

New colours and shapes have arrived for categories within the Google Maps app and browser, with the sharper point of the pin replaced with a shorter and more rounded alternative. It's a softer approach, and one that matches the icon design for stars, flags and hearts as 9to5Google points out.

Categories now appear in a coloured circle with an icon and specific colour and that circle is then placed on a white background within the new pins.

The report from 9to5Google, which spotted the icon change, not only offers a nice before and after pic that we've included above so you can see the differences, but also highlights that while most icons have remained the same colour, some have changed. 

The museum icon for example, was a teal colour in the previous version of Google Maps, switching to purple in the redesign and that applies to the name of the museum that sits alongside the icon too. The zoo icon meanwhile, remains the same colour but a slightly lighter shade. 

The new Google Map pins should be available to see on Android, iOS and on your browser so you can have a look for yourself and see what you think. We like them, do you?