Microsoft’s new logo proves you gotta be square to be hip

For the first time in 25 years, Microsoft has updated its corporate logo. If you hadn't guessed, it now looks a lot like Windows 8.

Microsoft has been inventing new products for decades, but today marks the first time it’s changed its corporate logo in 25 years. As a nod to the new style of Windows 8, and an admission that tiles really are everything to Microsoft right now, the company’s new logo has a completely square version of the classic Windows symbol included on it, complete with the red, green, blue, and  yellow squares. In addition to the Windows symbol, the Microsoft wording is now in a simpler, more Windows 8-style font as well and is now colored gray instead of black. If you take a trip to Microsoft.com, you’ll already see the new logo in use. 

Though the Windows operating system has always had a symbol similar to this, albeit not as modern, this is the first time Microsoft has put the Windows symbol on its corporate logo. The change shows how deeply Microsoft is committed to its new strategy. Nearly every product, from Azure to Zune, has been reworked and altered to fit in with Windows 8. Even the Xbox, once a completely separate brand, now has an interface with Live Tiles (or should we call them window panes?) covering it.

We won’t know whether or not Windows 8 is a smart move for Microsoft for some time, but it is interesting to see how boldly the software giant is pushing its new design style. Microsoft claims that the new logo will be used “prominently,” going forward. Expect to see old Microsoft logos disappearing around the world as the great purging and re-invention of the Microsoft logo begins. If you get nostalgic though, you can always search Google  Bing for old Microsoft logos!