Killing the Mocking (Blue) Bird / From Twitter to X

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August 17, 2023

Photo by BBC

For nearly two decades, Twitter was a verb, a symbol, and the internet's public square. The little blue bird stood for real-time conversation, breaking news, and the freedom to say, "Here's what's happening." So when Twitter became X, was it merely a logo change? Or was it an attempt to rewrite the very meaning of the brand?

As designers, we often ask whether a logo can change perception. But perhaps the better question is:

Can a brand abandon its identity before its audience is ready to?

Twitter had built a clear positioning over the years. It served public conversation through short-form, real-time content that people could create, consume, and discover. Its purpose was focused, and its identity reflected that focus. X, however, wants to be something entirely different. It aims to become an "everything app"; a platform that combines social networking, payments, shopping, messaging, and more, inspired by Asian super apps like WeChat and Grab.

But can a platform simply decide to become an ecosystem? Or does that transformation need to be earned through user behaviour and trust?

This is where branding becomes strategy.

A brand is more than what a company says it is. It's what people believe it is. If millions still instinctively call it "Twitter," has the rebrand really happened? If users hesitate to trust one platform with their conversations, payments, and personal data, is the barrier technological, or psychological?

The challenge isn't only visual. It's behavioural.

Can a platform known for open conversations suddenly become a financial ecosystem?

Can it ask users to share more personal data at a time when privacy concerns are growing?

Can one promise freedom of speech while simultaneously asking for deeper trust?

From a strategy perspective, X presents a fascinating paradox. The opportunities are enormous: younger audiences, integrated services, and the convenience of a single digital ecosystem. But so are the risks. Twitter had accumulated years of brand equity, recognition, and emotional familiarity. Why discard an asset that companies spend decades trying to build?

Perhaps the most interesting question isn't whether X will succeed.

It's whether brands can fundamentally change what they stand for without first changing what people expect from them.

Because sometimes, the hardest part of a rebrand is convincing the world that the old one no longer exists.