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Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

seattletimes.nwsource.com

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Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#131

Post by colanderman »

rplnt wrote: post #106
colanderman wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention the URL… http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx , really? Have they not heard of internal/external URL mapping and Accept-Language? Not to mention it won't even load for me; I guess they don't cache this stuff either.

What is wrong with that url (except default.aspx)? It's widely used and I like if I'm not forced to some region or locale based on my IP and Accept-Language. Well, I still am but I can change it easily if they give me this url (or even better link on a page).

IP-sniffing is evil; I'm not advocating that.

Accept-Language is trivial to change; on Opera, it's one of the three things on the first tab of Preferences, and I can set it for all sites rather than on a per-site basis.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#132

Post by nivla »

mbesto wrote: post #104
untog wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So when Apple change their name from Apple Computers it was because they lacked credibility? No, of course not. But because it's Microsoft everyone throws this nonsense around. Rebranding is something that all companies do at varying times their lives. When you haven't done it in 25 years... yeah, it's probably time for a refresh. Trends change.

You really think a business person with real money on the line makes a dramatic change like this based on the notion of "When you haven't done it in 25 years... yeah, it's probably time for a refresh. Trends change." That would be mind baffling...

You do realize that most major companies have undergone brand/logo refreshments at some point? Infact its much more difficult to pick out a popular company that hasn't redesigned their logo/brand since it birth. If you think that signals the demise of a company then you should visit thefacebook.com sometime.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#133

Post by SoftwareMaven »

notatoad wrote: post #67
mbesto wrote: post #26

You know the greatest lesson I learned from the tv show The Wire? When your brand lacks credibility you make a change to the brand.[1][2] Good move by Microsoft. On other hand, I'm still trying to grok why Twitter changed it's logo recently[3]? Was something inherently being tarnished about the Twitter brand? As far as I know, the answer is NO. I'm going to make a major assumption here, but I think it had to do with…

Microsoft isn't changing their brand, they're updating their brand. It's something virtually every company does from time to time, and it's not a sign of the apocalypse. Microsoft isn't escaping any of their past with this change, they're still very recognizable as the same company as before. Your assumptions about the reason for updating a brand are even wronger in the case of Twitter. They didn't update their brand…

I think of Twitter's logo change as the time they turned from "openish tool for loosely connecting millions" to "closed tool for broadcasting to millions". I wonder if that was intentional.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#134

Post by toddmorey »

Livven wrote: post #82
Jabbles wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should I make a FourSquare reference? I'm just amazed that the colours are a rotation of Google's Favicon... Red Green Blue Yellow. (Alright so it's orange, not red.) https://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imgh... Is there any way to get a compressed google search URL that's not a redirect?

Um, ever seen the old Windows logo?

Right, but the old Windows logo has a distinctive shape. Even in black and white, it's distinguishable. Now you could argue that it's just squares that have been warped with a wave and I'd agree with you. However, the important part here is that they've now simplified it further in the direction of even less unique. That makes a trademark even harder to defend. That doesn't mean the shape has to be complicated: I'd argue that Nike's swoosh is extremely simple yet has just enough going on to make it instantly recognizable. The old Windows logo was another decent example.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#135

Post by contextfree »

discreteevent wrote: post #87
quarterto wrote: post #2

I... don't hate it. What's wrong with me? It's bold, it's fresh, it does a pretty damn good job of shrugging off the Microsoft of the past 25 years.

I don't like it. I like mimimalism but this clean minimal look that's virtually everywhere (as people try to outdo each other in simplicity) is just a fashion. You know already that there is going to be a backlash against this as there always has been in the past (how long did the Bauhaus last?) and then this will be outdated. Also the primary colours are a bit sixties'ish and shortly will look just as dated as anyth…

So you're saying that it's a style from the 20s-60s and also a passing fad? :)

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#136

Post by snowwrestler »

quarterto wrote: post #2

I... don't hate it. What's wrong with me? It's bold, it's fresh, it does a pretty damn good job of shrugging off the Microsoft of the past 25 years.

I love the whole direction of Microsoft's graphic design these days, and I've had Macs at home exclusively for at least 10 years.

I think Microsoft is doing a great job of trading on the emotional value of colors. Apple rebuilt their company by bringing color to computing (remember the iMac and iBook), but then went away from that in almost every way, sucking the color out of all their products except for a few iPods. It's very sleek and elegant, but let's face it, colors are fun too.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#137

Post by colanderman »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #108
colanderman wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention the URL… http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx , really? Have they not heard of internal/external URL mapping and Accept-Language? Not to mention it won't even load for me; I guess they don't cache this stuff either.

I guess it relates to the issue discussed here a day or two ago about redirection ("am I suddenly Japanese" or something like that; should have been "think I'm turning Japanese" ...). The default.aspx could be an affirmation of the backend being used so that when you see that elsewhere you know the server tech is MS, a sort of advertising/brand presence decision. What I find interesting is that the new logo is not on…

The default.aspx could be an affirmation of the backend being used so that when you see that elsewhere you know the server tech is MS, a sort of advertising/brand presence decision.

I thought of that too, but that's sort of like Toyota advertising what sort of engine a car has by leaving the muffler off of all the showroom models. Gearheads can tell the engine by the cacophony in the showroom lot, but everyone else will get the impression that Toyota's cars are noisy.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#138

Post by silverbax88 »

sudonim wrote: post #7

The logo is O.K. Their homepage http://microsoft.com looks like a mix between a "corporate" website template you'd buy for $50 and a domain squatting page with amazon referral links. Gosh I want to cheer for microsoft but they make it real hard.

At the risk of sounding snarky, not all change is good change.

Of course, it's not like Microsoft EVER had a decent or even remotely stylish logo. The bigger concern I would have over the logo is the website, which is amateurish. Honestly, if I did not know this was Microsoft, I would think it was a startup company that paid $50 for a website template, as you stated, and not a very good one.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#139

Post by noblethrasher »

Trufa wrote: post #125
noblethrasher wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IBM and Apple each have a more homogeneous audience. IBM is a consulting company and courts mid- to upper-level manager types with purchasing authority. After few seconds on the page you are invited to speak with a sales consultant via a popup. Apple is focused exclusively on the (premium) consumer space. Both companies represent top-down totalitarianism (I say this without value-connotation): IBM suggest corporate c…

Apple sold 18.65M iPhones in Q2 2011, that's iPhone alone, I think calling Apple's audience homogeneous is ridiculous, and falls under the same as "mac is for designers" old-fashion statement.

'Homogeneous' meaning that they've been focusing on the consumer market almost exclusively for the past ten years and especially so for the last five.

Re: Microsoft gets a new logo for the first time since 1987

#140

Post by silverbax88 »

colanderman wrote: post #99
sudonim wrote: post #7

The logo is O.K. Their homepage http://microsoft.com looks like a mix between a "corporate" website template you'd buy for $50 and a domain squatting page with amazon referral links. Gosh I want to cheer for microsoft but they make it real hard.

Not to mention the URL… http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx , really? Have they not heard of internal/external URL mapping and Accept-Language? Not to mention it won't even load for me; I guess they don't cache this stuff either.

No idea why they wouldn't just use their own MVC code that's now backed into the Visual Studio IDE.
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