Microsoft Unveils New Logo: [insert emotion here]
Today Microsoft announced it’s new logo and company-wide branding.
It looks like this:
or this:
Same thing.
My Thoughts #
It looks nice. Simple and square – nothing wrong with that. However, I do wish that they had dropped the logotype “Microsoft,” and simply stick with the symbol as their new logo.
After all, we have seen this color combo for 25 years now (and it was basically the Windows logo). What could we possibly mix it up with?
pause.
Besides, they seem to put heavy emphasis on it too:
The symbol is important in a world of digital motion (as demonstrated in the video above.) The symbol’s squares of color are intended to express the company’s diverse portfolio of products.
Even Twitter went for the major rebranding and dropped the characters from its new icon-only logo at just six years of age.
So is Microsoft afraid of such a move? Or do they simply love the Segoe font (which is the same font they use in their products as well as their marketing communications) that much? I don’t know.
Others’ Thoughts #
So after logging my initial reactions in my Moleskine, I asked around, naturally. Most folks said it was “cool,” “works for what they’re trying to do,” “clean and minimal,” etc.
Then there were those who said it looked like what a 4-year-old would accidentally do with four crayons and forty seconds. Or a grandmother, or passing time in MS Paint.
And the biggest one of all came from my friend Joshua Schnell, founder/editor of Apple tech-blog, Macgasm.
When I asked “what are your thoughts on the new Microsoft logo,” he responded quickly with a link.
That could very well be the point, but, every time I look at the new logo, I don’t see Microsoft. Instead, I now actually see Boot Camp. Apple’s Boot Camp has been around since April 5, 2006. The application is used to assist users in installing, you guessed it, Microsoft Windows on Intel-based Macintosh systems.
His point, in a picture:
On the left is Microsoft’s new logo, and on the right is Apple’s Boot Camp logo. But in Microsoft’s defense, their version of the box logo came out long before Apple’s Boot Camp. Still, this is funny.
And then there’s the Google Chrome logo comparison that Gruber points out.
Regardless, it’s a big step for Microsoft. Well done guys. Now convince the world that you’re back and ready for action.