Over 50 million downloads and still going strong, FireFox can easily be recognized by their logo in a split second. That 'ol firey-fox wrapped around the globe sits on many a peoples' desktop, but do you have any clue as to who actually sat down to create the wonderfully clean image that is Firefox's identity?

The gentleman's name is Jon Hicks, a freelance designer from the UK. And such a generous Hicks he is that he put up the creative process that went into its design on his personal website. (It should be noted that Daniel Burka created the concept and Stephen Desroches sketched it. It was only rendered by Hicks.)

Both the following pages -- yes, they're a bit old, but that doesn't change at all the worth of what you can learn! -- can be checked out if you're interested to get an inside look. There's even some nifty sketches included (everything starts with a sketch!). Check it:

Branding Firefox
Branding Thunderbird

And, what's that you say? You want a hi-res, blown-up image of the logo to look at just for the heck of it? I got you covered, my friends! Check this puppy out: hi-res Firefox logo [PNG]

Besides all the benefits of using Firefox as your main browser (and if you have not switched, what are you waiting for?), you can't help but argue that Firefox's identity is one of the reasons why it has become so popular amongst us internet-dwellers.

Long live!