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Tag: logos

  • New Windows Logo Strikes Minimalistic Chord

    For most of my life, the word “Windows” has only called up one mental image: the Windows 98 loading screen, chugging away on my basement computer, a Packard Bell. Interesting home computing choices aside, the image of Microsoft’s Windows, that wavy blue, yellow, red, and green flag flying gallantly across the screen is gone forever.

    Well, at least for Windows 8.

    What? It’s not a flag? Of course, of course – it’s multi-colored windows.

    And that’s the confusion that Microsoft has addressed with their logo redesign. “It’s a window…not a flag,” they say in a blog post.

    We have said that Windows 8 is a complete reimagination of the Windows operating system. Nothing has been left unexplored, including the Windows logo, to evaluate how it held up to modern PC sensibilities. The Windows logo is a strong and widely recognized mark but when we stepped back and analyzed it, we realized an evolution of our logo would better reflect our Metro style design principles and we also felt there was an opportunity to reconnect with some of the powerful characteristics of previous incarnations.

    And with the help of Pentagram design consultants, the new, simple, almost sterile Windows 8 logo was born. For the first time in 20 years, the Windows logo goes monochromatic.

    If anything, the logo that Windows 8 most closely resembles is Windows 1.0. See?

    So Microsoft really went back to their roots with this one. A true “window.” Although the logo is monochromatic, each user will be able change it to other colors (all red, or all green per say) –

    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.

    What do you think? Microsoft is giving up a hugely recognizable design here. Will it pay off? Will this new logo help Microsoft usher Windows into a new era? Let us know in the comments.

  • Five Year Old’s Take On Popular Brand Logos

    Take a look at brand logos the next time you’re around them, and think about what they really look like. Adam Ladd, a graphic designer, took it upon himself to create a fun project where he showed his five year old daughter various brand logos to see what she thought of them.

    The results are adorable, insightful, and they provide a glimpse into what we subject our kids to on a daily basis. The video also provides a good reminder that your logos should be simple and impactful; lest you become like the Olympics, and your logo comes out looking baby toys. Hey, they do look like baby toys…

  • Jim Henson’s Awesome Google Doodle

    Google’s string of hitting home runs with their logo manipulations continues with their latest Doodle, an impressive honoring of the great Jim Henson. In typical new Google Doodle fashion, the Jim Henson logo responds to user input, allowing Google visitors to play the role of giving a voice to the Muppets that comprise the letters in Google’s name.

    As indicated, the latest doodle is indeed interactive, done with the mouse inputs. Google visitors can select which Muppet they wish to manipulate by clicking the hand signal underneath the characters. Once selected, the selected Muppet follows the movement of the mouse and when a button is pressed, the selected Muppet opens its mouth, allowing the user to take add a voice to the animated character. The Henson Doodle represents another successful interactive Google Doodle, a string that has seen the awesome Les Paul logo, as well as Freddie Mercury and Alexander Calder, to name a few.

    Like other doodles, when clicked, the user is taken to a “Jim Henson” search results page, and it’s a fantastic way to remind people just how awesome Henson’s creative talent was, and it should also go a long way in explaining why his talent is still missed.

    According to the Google blog, the logo will be visible for 36 hours. The logo was also created with cooperation from The Jim Henson Company. The Google blog includes a guest post from Brian Henson, the son of the late Jim Henson, and it closes by adding some insight into the man responsible for Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy:

    Jim was clearly a great visionary. But he also wanted everyone around him fully committed creatively. If you asked him how a movie would turn out, he’d say, “It’ll be what this group can make, and if you changed any one of them, it would be a different movie.” Every day for him was joyously filled with the surprises of other people’s ideas. I often think that if we all lived like that, not only would life be more interesting, we’d all be a lot happier.

    There’s also a video celebrating the doodle, again, courtesy of Henson’s company:


    Another cool tidbit, courtesy of the latest Google Doodle: when you right-click the characters and select the “Open image in a new tab” option, you are greeted with the various expressions the logo-comprising Muppets make. An example of these images:

    Google Doodle

    With Google continuing its impressive streak of logo manipulations, it makes one anticipate the next offering a great deal. Let’s just hope Google doesn’t get caught up in trying outdo themselves. As long as they continue with the kind of quality we see with the Henson logo, everything will be just fine.