Windows Gets a Makeover

The computer software company ends 2012 with a new system and advertising campaign

Photograph via Techno Buffalo

Three years after the release of the well-receipted Windows 7, the Microsoft Corporation introduced Windows 8 to the public with a new, simplified logo.  

The corporation’s blog stated on August 23 that the wave of new releases represents a new era for Microsoft. Using symbolism to their advantage, they changed their logo, signifying the start of Microsoft’s hopeful “Golden Age.”

The new, modern logo was the first evolution for an upcoming era in Windows technology, leaving behind the series of complicated graphics and classic Microsoft name that used to appear in their ads. Sparking a Twitter controversy, the logo is once again in Microsoft style: hit or miss. All Microsoft products including Microsoft Office and the Xbox 360 are scheduled to receive the makeover in the upcoming months.

Microsoft's general manager of brand strategy Jeff Hansen told the Seattle Times that the update is meant to “signal the heritage but also signal the future - a newness and freshness.”

Years later, the corporation is still recovering from the mistakes of Windows Vista in early 2007 and the negative reception that left their anticipated profit in the dust. With Windows 8, the company seems to be joining Generation Y in its social media lifestyle, creating not only a revamped desktop, but a “dashboard” screen for applications. Within dissimilar, colorful boxes, the new interface is an application playground, bringing out the user’s personality in a scrapbook-like fashion, essentially a desktop Pintrest.

While software gurus only have one system to judge this season, controversy is already brewing in the bellies of Microsoft fans. They hope the introduction of Windows 8 won’t have the same negative reception as its parent product Windows Vista.

- Sierra Stewart, Design Editor