Microsoft updates its logo for the first time in 25 years

Out with the old,

In with the new.

The new logo features the name "Microsoft" in the Segoe font — a font Microsoft owns and has used in its products and marketing for several years. The font also figures prominently in the new Windows 8 user interface.

The Seattle Times, who spoke to Microsoft, have reported that the new logo, which incorporates a multicolored Windows symbol in addition to the "Microsoft" name in straightforward, lighter type, is intended to "signal the heritage but also signal the future — a newness and freshness," said Jeff Hansen, Microsoft's general manager of brand strategy.

The "f" and "t" in the name "Microsoft" are still connected in the new logo, just as they were in the old. "It was one of the subtleties we thought we could bring forward," Hansen said.

The new logo has also been showcased in a video uploaded to the Microsoft YouTube channel which you can see below:

The four colored squares in the logo appear to represent all the different products that Microsoft have on offer, and as Hansen points out "the diversity of our products and the diversity of people that we serve." It also bears a resemblance to the Microsoft Store logo and the colors used for what seems like forever in the Windows logo, up until Windows 7. 

Hansen also revealed four Store locations the new logo is already in use on the Official Microsoft Blog, as well as other areas the logo is expected to make an appearance:

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.

But wait!

At first Microsoft denied that the logo was going to be updated.

The new logo (sans symbol) had already started appearing on new Microsoft Hardware products.

Rumors were abound that a new logo was imminent due to the updated font being used on newly released hardware, but when asked, Microsoft denied it to CNET:

This is not a new logo. Segoe is the font that we use in many of our product experiences and marketing materials. You will see the word Microsoft showing up from time to time in the Segoe typeface, which reflects the look and feel of the new experiences we are creating. We’ll also continue to use the traditional Microsoft logotype.

Turns out that was a load of porkies!

What do you think of the new logo? Drop your comments below.

Source: The Seattle Times via Official Microsoft Blog