Windows 8 Logo Unveiled by Microsoft: “It’s a Window… Not a Flag”
Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system with its “Metro UI” is definitely changing the way users used to interact with an operating system. The Metro UI seems more fitting for mobile, tablets and touch-based devices instead for desktop PCs and is clearly a sign that Microsoft is moving on. The Redmond giant is very near to unveil Windows 8 Beta at a “consumer preview” event in Barcelona, Spain on February 29.
On Friday, February 17, Sam Moreau, Windows’ principal director of user experiences, announced the dramatically redesigned Windows 8 logo on Windows’ official blog. The new logo now looks more like a window instead of a flag.
When the Windows 8 team started working to give the new operating system a new logo, designer Paula Scher of the Pentagram design consulting firm asked the Windows executives one simple question, “your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?“
Thus the new logo was designed…meant to reflect Windows’ new “Metro style design principles.”
If you see closely, the new logo inspired from the logo of the granddaddy of Windows operating system, Windows 1.0.
You can see the history of Windows logos below.
The four-colored flag-like hallmark logo which also appeared with Windows 7 was first seen around nineties with Windows 3.1. But with the upcoming operating system, Microsoft seems to replace it with a more flattened, angled, and window-like appearance, as Sam Moreau aptly says, “it’s a window… not a flag.”
According to The Verge, this new logo will appear in the charms bar, activated by touch, mouse or keyboard. It is also expected to replace other instances of the traditional flag in Windows 8, making a fundamental change of design aesthetic combined with Microsoft’s Metro style Start Screen.
Moreau further deeply explained the redesign:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
The new logo has already received mixed feedback. What do you think about the new logo? Do you like it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
