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In February 2016 LastPass unveiled a new logo to roll out across its website, browser extensions and mobile apps. Android Headlines summed up the change: the logo was not hugely different, but where there had been an asterisk there were now three dots.

The reason was legal before it was aesthetic. The company explained on its blog that the asterisk, long synonymous with hiding a typed password, had been part of the logo since 2008, and had become the subject of an unanticipated trademark lawsuit filed in early 2015. That led the team to explore retiring it. Android Headlines noted the dots made sense for a password manager, since they too are used to hide what you type.

LastPass framed the timing as lucky. It had already been working on a new interface for LastPass 4.0, launched the previous month, with a refreshed, modern design. And as it pointed out, at login the asterisk had long since given way to the dot. So it combined the qualities of its new design, which it listed as fresh, bold, simple, colourful, modern and user-friendly, with the modern image of logging in.

Security shaped the rollout too. Because a password manager suddenly looking different could alarm people, LastPass said it would email all users about the change and spread the news through its blog and social channels. Android Headlines agreed that an unexpected new icon on the app holding all your logins could be a bit scary.

Few rebrands have such a clear brief, and LastPass answered it sensibly. The dots are more accurate than the asterisk ever was, and the mark stays legible at the favicon size where it does its real work. It is not inspired, and it did not need to be. Telling users before they noticed was the smartest design decision of all.