Whoa nellie! Talk about a lively debate! Microsoft unveiled a “new” logo yesterday and designers are up in arms. Some are shouting “boring!”, “too plain!”, “not distinctive!”. While others are cooing “modern”, “minimal”, “so Web 3.0”.
I think I agree that it’s too generic to be remembered strictly as Microsoft. Plus, as a commenter on BetaNews pointed out, these four squares are from the Windows logo. Check out these awesome retro commercials for Windows 95:
Logo design is hard. I think it’s the hardest part of being a designer. The challenge of finding/creating one image that represents who a company is AND is graphically interesting/memorable is a painstaking process. That’s why big companies (and some smart small companies) pay big bucks for logos.
So what do you think? Yay or nay?
I agree that it is boring, but it seems to be the way design is moving. All of the trends are leaning toward minimalism, but minimalism is actually hard to achieve without making it boring. What is wrong with the old windows logo? I don’t like this new one, but it works. It is the familiar colors in a familiar pattern. At least it is not a complete revamp after 25 years!