As Microsoft prepare for the launch of new versions of Windows, Windows Server, Windows Phone and Office they have unveiled a new logo for the company, the first time the logo has changed in 25 years.
As you would expect the logo has the new metro style look and Microsoft have gone into the design details on a post on technet. It’s a nice clean look and I sure we are going to be seeing it everywhere pretty soon.
It’s been 25 years since we’ve updated the Microsoft logo and now is the perfect time for a change. This is an incredibly exciting year for Microsoft as we prepare to release new versions of nearly all of our products. From Windows 8 to Windows Phone 8 to Xbox services to the next version of Office, you will see a common look and feel across these products providing a familiar and seamless experience on PCs, phones, tablets and TVs. This wave of new releases is not only a reimagining of our most popular products, but also represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning.
The Microsoft brand is about much more than logos or product names. We are lucky to play a role in the lives of more than a billion people every day. The ways people experience our products are our most important “brand impressions”. That’s why the new Microsoft logo takes its inspiration from our product design principles while drawing upon the heritage of our brand values, fonts and colors.
The logo has two components: the logotype and the symbol. For the logotype, we are using the Segoe font which is the same font we use in our products as well as our marketing communications. The symbol is important in a world of digital motion. The symbol’s squares of color are intended to express the company’s diverse portfolio of products.
Starting today, you’ll see the new Microsoft logo being used prominently. It will be used on Microsoft.com – the 10th most visited website in the world. It is in three of our Microsoft retail stores today (Boston, Seattle’s University Village and Bellevue, Wash.) and will shine brightly in all our stores over the next few months. It will sign off all of our television ads globally. And it will support our products across various forms of marketing. Fully implementing a change like this takes time, so there may be other instances where you will see the old logo being used for some time.
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“Microsoft have gone into the design details” – it’s four coloured squares and a name.
“The symbol’s squares of color are intended to express the company’s diverse portfolio of products.” – I’m being smothered by marketing bullshit.
When they start messing with the logo it’s the beginning of the end.
Congratulations Microsoft, I’m working and enjoing your products since 1982 and will continue doing so. Microsoft is reliable computing.