Microsoft has redesigning the logo of Windows software, making a fundamental change to the iconic four-colour Windows logo users have been used to for 20 years. With Windows 8, Microsoft will dump the familiar multicolored flag logos that have adorned Windows for the last two decades in favor of something much- four blue blocks.
“The Windows logo is a strong and widely recognized mark but when we stepped back and analyzed it, we realized an evolution of our logo would better reflect our Metro style design principles and we also felt there was an opportunity to reconnect with some of the powerful characteristics of previous incarnations,” said Sam Moreau, a user experience director on Microsoft’s Windows 8 team, in a company blog post.
The new logo, Moreau said, is a throwback of sorts to the first two logos of Windows, which looked not like a waving flag but rather two color windows, as you might find in a home or office.
“‘Windows’ really is a beautiful metaphor for computing and with the new logo we wanted to celebrate the idea of a window, in perspective,” he said. “Microsoft and Windows are all about putting technology in people’s hands to empower them to find their own perspectives. And that is what the new logo was meant to be. We did less of a redesign and more to return it to its original meaning and bringing Windows back to its roots — reimagining the Windows logo as just that — a window.”
The new logo is designed by Paula Scher from the Pentagram Design Agency, whose notable works include the Citibank logo. The first Windows logo debuted in November 1985. Since then, the logo has gone through several redesigns, which were all based on the design of a four-color wavy flag.
Microsoft hasn’t yet shown off the new logo in Windows 8 itself, but that could happen soon and possibly at Mobile World Congress event for developers on Feb. 29, 2012 in Barcelona. Microsoft has moved on with time and remains connected to new realities and features.
