As you might have heard, Drupal 9 is being released this Wednesday. There is a lot to celebrate, you’ll find evidence of Drupal 9 celebrations as teams prepare to upgrade to the new version of our favorite content management system. However, there is no distinct Drupal 9 logo to go with this release. Instead, a new evergreen logo will be used to represent all versions of the Drupal project and software. And there’s a good reason for that.
The Original Drupal "Logo"
To provide some context, when I first used Drupal 12 years ago, Drupal had a single recognizable branding element: the famous Druplicon. Not a true logo, the Drop icon is a well-loved community symbol: a character that has been adapted a thousand different ways in typical open-source fashion, just like Drupal itself. If you’ve ever attended a Drupal event, you’ve seen variations on this original drop. Although loved by Drupalers, it’s a bit of a curiosity to outsiders and probably too grass-roots for marketers and digital directors trying to select a solution for their next corporate website.
The Drupal Wordmark
When Drupal 7 was released, a word mark came along around the same time. As Drupal gained wide adoption by large organizations, the wordmark provided consistency and an easily recognizable symbol of the Drupal project, used by insiders and outsiders alike.
The Drupal 8 Logo
When Drupal 8 was released, a stylish drop emerged to represent this new version of the software. With the cut-out of an 8 inside a drop, the logo is simpler and sleeker than the Druplicon. We used it in pitch decks and product comparisons, and having a more mature logo allowed us to visually represent the modernization in the underlying technology of Drupal 8.
The Drupal Evergreen Logo
If you, like me, tend to have a dozen or so Drupal.org tabs open at a time, then you’ve already seen the new Drupal evergreen logo. Our friend the Druplicon has morphed into a sleeker droplet. The observant among you will recognize its origins in the DrupalCon brand. The drop shape is the same, stripped of the hexagonal treatment, and showing the light Drupal blue color.
And that slight shift in branding is just like Drupal 9 itself. Drupal 9 is an upgrade of the underlying technology (Symfony and its related libraries), so that Drupal can keep innovating. It’s a big deal that migrating to Drupal 9 is no big deal.
Drupal 9.0 is a huge improvement on Drupal 8.0, so much effort has been put into carefully scheduling and releasing feature after feature over the last 4 years. Each feature releases since Drupal 8 came out has progressively made Drupal more powerful and more mature. And for those who upgrade to Drupal 9, features like a new admin UI, a new default theme, and other continuous improvements will continue to be added. Just like a logo that is tweaked until it’s right, it’s a platform that keeps innovating and improving. The Drop is always moving.
A Community Effort
Like everything else, the creation of the Drupal Evergreen Logo was a community effort. Huge thanks to Sixeleven for creating the logo (generously donating their time during the peak of Italy's COVID crisis). Thanks to Gábor Hotsjy for pushing the project ahead along with all things Drupal 9, and to the Drupal Association for making it happen. Let me know if you want to get involved in the Promote Drupal Initiative to help with similar projects in the future!
Show Me the Logo!
You can download the new logo, the wordmark, and the Druplicon from the Drupal Media Kit and take a look at Drupal’s Brand Book and marketing materials from the Promote Drupal initiative.