Microsoft Unveils New Metro-Style Corporate Logo -- Redmondmag.com

Microsoft Unveils New Metro-Style Corporate Logo

By Kurt Mackie
08/23/2012

Microsoft announced today that it has changed the appearance of its corporate logo to match the "look and feel" of its emerging new products.

Like the start screen in Windows 8, the new Microsoft corporate logo has that similar flat, spare design style that Microsoft used to refer to as "Metro," although that nomenclature may be changing. The new logo uses the Segoe font and has colors that "are intended to express the company's diverse portfolio of products," according to Jeff Hansen, general manager of brand strategy at Microsoft, in a blog post. Hansen said that Microsoft has not changed its corporate logo in 25 years.

Microsoft has previously described its Metro design as reflecting the simplicity of signage seen in airports and passenger depots. Metro is also the name of a sans serif font design by William Addison Dwiggins. Some articles have speculated that Microsoft is dropping the Metro name because it infringes the trademark of a German company, but nothing's been confirmed publicly. Some of Microsoft's blogs now seem to use the phrase "modern UI" instead of Metro.

Early on, Microsoft team members explained the company's Metro UI approach as a way to surface applications that were buried in the Windows menu system. The Microsoft design team made the switch based on how people were actually using Windows, based on stats delivered through Microsoft's opt-in feedback system. People typically launched programs from the taskbar, for instance, rather than digging through menus and using the Start button. The tile-based Metro UI also helps keep users alerted to changes as the tiles are capable of receiving updates on the fly, which can be useful for applications such as stock tickers and such.

Metro is not a bunch of rectangles; rather, it's "a philosophy," according to Sam Moreau, a director of the Windows user experience, according to a CNet article. The new logo actually uses squares.

The new logo will start to appear today across Microsoft.com, as well as other Microsoft Web sites. Retail Microsoft stores are also making the switch in the coming months.

[Click on image for larger view.]

The new Microsoft corporate logo unveiled today.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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