"Rebrands rarely get much love. That backlash can be especially strong if you're giving a facelift to a decades-old piece of software beloved by nerds around the globe. So, it was no surprise that when Audacity revealed its new logo people on the internet got a little worked up. And look, there's no two ways about it, the logo is pretty bad. The font it quite nice, but the bewildering take on its traditional headphone icon is rough."
"Reactions around The Verge newsroom included "looks like someone stepped on the apple music icon," and "trying to decide if their new logo looks like a sperm, and am mostly coming up with yes." But if you can get past the branding, Audacity 4 actually looks like it's going to be a much needed upgrade. Martin Keary, VP of product at Muse, posted a nearly hour long video to YouTube detailing the challenges facing Audacity."
Audacity has evolved from a clean, simple audio editor into a cluttered application with notable usability problems over 25 years. A redesign for Version 4 aims to simplify the interface, reduce friction, and restore approachable workflows. The rebrand and new logo provoked strong negative reactions online, though the redesign focuses on functional improvements beyond cosmetic changes. Martin Keary, VP of product at Muse, presented a detailed video explaining usability challenges, design rationale, and development progress. Version 4 is slated for early 2026 and promises to minimize frequent error states and remove common user workflow roadblocks through clearer interface decisions.
Read at The Verge
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