Google's new app icons are getting the meme treatment

Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged viral memes mocking the company's redesigned app icons, responding with thinking emojis to user-submitted designs that reimagined Google Docs as Doc Martens and Google Sheets as bed sheets. The redesign, intended to create "consistency and cohesion" across Google Workspace apps, has instead sparked a wave of creative parody on social media platforms.

People are submitting their own designs for Google's new app icons, and the trend has caught the attention of CEO Sundar Pichai. Some of the icons for your go-to Google apps https://www.businessinsider.com/google-personal-intelligence-app-empire-gemini-edge-openai-anthropic-ai-2026-1 are getting a revamp over the next several weeks. The company said Tuesday that the new visual design is meant to drive "consistency and cohesion" across the Google Workspace, which includes apps like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more. It's also spawning memes on platforms like X, poking fun at the redesign. Some users took a more literal approach to Google's app icons, such as using Doc Martens to represent Google Docs https://www.businessinsider.com/google-workspace-chief-stepping-down-leaked-memo-2024-11 , bed sheets for Sheets, and sandals for Slides. They shared clever ways the company could've drawn inspiration from everyday life to craft its new designs. "Google could be doing so much more," an X user wrote. Google could be doing so much more — Sheel Mohnot @pitdesi https://t.co/KCEmYlwwqs pic.twitter.com/0FQUkFAECK May 27, 2026 One of the design pitches caught the attention of Pichai, the CEO of Google and parent company, Alphabet. "Google is sitting on a massive clothing and home textiles opportunity," X user Trung Phan captioned an image of shorts, sandals, and bed sheets. Sundar responded with two thinking emojis. Google is sitting on a massive clothing and home textiles opportunity — Trung Phan @TrungTPhan https://t.co/PWjC25USYe pic.twitter.com/Ia5kPQ8S5g May 27, 2026 Pichai's response to the popular posts led to more iterations of this hypothetical clothing line, including a leather racing jacket for Google Drive. "I'm a fan of this trend," another X user said. Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Sometimes small changes cause big waves with consumers. Cracker Barrel tried to modernize https://www.businessinsider.com/cracker-barrel-new-logo-draws-criticism-sends-stock-down-2025-8 its logo last year, and it bombed with customers, sparking a response that wasn't as playful as the discussions around Google's. While the user-designed Google icons appear largely in jest, the tech giant has experimented with wearables and other products. The company, which previously explored smart glasses https://www.businessinsider.com/google-glass , plans to launch AI-powered glasses https://www.businessinsider.com/google-competing-with-meta-ray-bans-new-warby-parker-partnership-2025-5 later this year through collaborations with eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, which could compete with Meta's Ray-Bans. The new Google designs were meant to make icons distinctive, and the memes are making sure they don't go unnoticed.