Microsoft Takes Windows Logo Back To Its Roots — A Window

by Staff Writer / Saturday, February 18th, 2012

Microsoft has unveiled a new logo for “Windows”, which it describes as a celebration of the idea of a window, in perspective.

In a detailed blog post, Microsoft’s Principal Director of User Experience for Windows, Sam Moreau explained how the Windows logo has evolved over the years into a flag, and why the company is going back to its roots – reimagining the Windows logo as a window.

According to Moreau, the company approached the Windows logo redesign with the following key goals in mind:

1. We wanted the new logo to be both modern and classic by echoing the International Typographic Style (or Swiss design) that has been a great influence on our Metro style design philosophy. Using bold flat colors and clean lines and shapes, the new logo has the characteristics of way-finding design systems seen in airports and subways.

2. It was important that the new logo carries our Metro principle of being “Authentically Digital”. By that, we mean it does not try to emulate faux-industrial design characteristics such as materiality (glass, wood, plastic, etc.). It has motion – aligning with the fast and fluid style you’ll find throughout Windows 8.

3. Our final goal was for the new logo to be humble, yet confident. Welcoming you in with a slight tilt in perspective and when you change your color, the logo changes to reflect you. It is a “Personal” Computer after all.

Now when you compare the history of Windows logos over the years, you can trace the evolution of the Windows logo in parallel with the advancements of the technology used to create logos.

“From the simple two color version in Windows 1.0 to the intricate and detailed renderings in Windows Vista and Windows 7, each change makes sense in the context in which it was created”, said Moreau.