Microsoft’s corporate logo has a new look, setting the stage for a wave of products designed to cast the world’s largest software maker in a new light.
The makeover unveiled Thursday marks the first time that Microsoft Corp. has revamped its logo since February 1987. Microsoft store employees like Mykal Carlton in Seattle, above, had the new logo displayed on laptops and wore shirts matching one of the four featured colors.
By revamping its logo, Microsoft is trying to signal that it has changed its thinking and its products to cater to people who are interacting with technology much differently than just a decade ago, let alone a quarter century.
Windows 8, due to hit the market Oct. 26, displays software applications in a mosaic of tiles and has been engineered so it works on both touch-based tablets and traditional PCs. The company also is releasing its own Windows 8-powered tablet to compete against the iPad, accompanied by a new version of Office applications tailored for such devices. There also will be a Windows 8 operating system for smartphones.
The redesign features the Microsoft name in a lighter, straight font called Segoe to replace the italic bold type used in the old standby. The new logo also includes the familiar red, blue, yellow and green colors used in the flag on Microsoft’s Windows operating system, but the colors will be in a square box instead of the curvy template that has been in place for years. Those color boxes evoke the tiles that will be central to Windows 8.
The Associated Press
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