Microsoft Reveals Internet Explorer 7 Branding

We just received word that Microsoft has updated their Internet Explorer 7 browser graphics:

"Hopefully, by now you've seen from our posts that there are a lot of new features and work going into IE 7. As part of this update, we're refreshing our icon and logotype. We considered more radical departures from our current logo, but blue "e" with the ring is very recognizable and familiar to users, so we elected instead to make more subtle changes.

As you can see, the new "e" has more modern look, and the edges are a bit darker so the icon stands out better against different backgrounds. We liked the gold ring too since it brings in new energy and helps the icon pop a bit more than the old one. This icon and text treatment will be used on the versions of IE 7 for Windows XPSP2, Server 2003 SP1, and x64 versions. We'll have a slightly different look for the Windows Vista version, one that's more consistent with the icons there. We're not quite ready with that one yet, but we'll share it here once we do."

We openly criticized the Beta 1 logos in our review of IE7 stating that "The Explorer "E" has been updated to a Macintosh IE type symbol, which we find doesn't look right when loaded into the start menu or quick launch bar." We think Microsoft has done a nice job this time around and the logo should look great in the final product.