It's starting to look like we know a lot less about Microsoft's new brand image than we thought we did; first we found out that Metro was getting a new name, and now it turns out that the new Metro-style logo we were all anticipating isn't official, either.
We got our first glimpse at the new understated logo during the Surface announcement, and it wasn't long before it started showing up online and on other Microsoft products. At the same time the old Microsoft logo we know and love was still hanging on, though, and apparently that's not about to change.
CNet Asia's John Chan (by the way, thanks for the Neowin shout-out in your article, John) raised the question in a recent article, and got the following response from Microsoft:
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.
So... the new 'logo' really isn't a logo at all. It's just the corporate name written in text. Which is a little odd, considering that it's being used an awful lot like a logo.
We're really not sure why Microsoft isn't going out on a limb with the new logo - they've given pretty much every other corporate logo a new coat of paint, so they're clearly not afraid of being bold with their new image. At the same time, it seems like keeping the old logo around along with the new one (we don't care what they say, it is a logo) will actually be more confusing to customers than just going all out with the new look.
Source: CNet Asia
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