Windows Logo

Windows Logo PNG

The earliest Windows logo appeared in 1985. It consisted of the wordmark and a light blue window emblem. There were 4 panes varying in size and shape.

Meaning and history

The visual identity of the world’s number one computer operating system has a very rich history. After its launch and creation of its first logo in 1985, there have been more than 15 versions of the Windows insignia designed by today. All of them have one thing in common — the stylized image of a window, which was not always readable, as in some designs it resembles a flag.

1985 – 1990

The very first logo was developed in 1985 with the debut version of the program. It was a sky-blue and black image, composed of an emblem and a wordmark on its right. The emblem featured a stylized image of the window, formed by four squares of various sizes with white lines, separating them from each other. The “Microsoft Windows” wordmark in black was executed in a thin elegant serif typeface, representing professionalism and authority.

1990 – 1992

The logo was redesigned with the launch of Windows 3.0. It was a monochrome composition with a very realistic window picture and a wordmark placed under it. The emblem was executed in gradient shades, creating a mysterious feeling.

1992 – 1993

The “Flag” logo era for Windows began in 1992 and lasted until the 2010s. The first colorful badge was designed in 1992 and boasted a waving flag shape falling into pixels in its left part. The right part of the emblem featured four colorful squares — red, green, blue, and yellow in a thick black outline. The wordmark was still placed in the bottom part of the logo.

1993 – 1994

In 1993 the wordmark under the iconic flag was changed to Microsoft WindowsNT. It was executed in the same color palette, style , and size as the previous version, so the “NT” lettering was the only change.

1994 – 1995

All of the elements of the logo were redrawn in 1994. The flag was enlarged, so was the “Windows” part of the lettering, which was now placed under the emblem, written in narrowed and elongated letters. As for the “Microsoft” part of the logotype, it was set vertically in the left from the “Windows”, also in a black serif typeface.

1995 – 1996

In 1995 the flag was placed diagonally on the left of the nameplate, which was now enlarged. The “Microsoft” part was executed in thin delicate lines and placed above the bold sans-serif “Windows” inscription, which was now the main part of the logo.

1996 – 2000

For the NT version , the logo was changed again in 1996. The only change here was the replacement of the thin “95” digit with the extra-bold “NT” letters, set in the same stable and strong sans-serif typeface, as the “Windows ” part of the inscriptions.

2000 – 2003

The logo, created fo r Windows in 2000, was probabl y the most colorful a mong all the versions of the software’s emblems. It was still the bold black inscription, but now it was placed under geometric and multicolor graphics, formed by numerous square frames in orange, yellow , and different shades of blue. Inside the bigger square , there was an iconic Windows flag set on a white background.

2000 – 2006

In 2000 two versions of the program were introduced — Windows 2000 and Windows ME, they both had their emblems redesigned. The signature flag was placed in a square frame, and in the 2000 version, the frame was blue with red, accompanied by yellow, red, and blue squares, while the ME edition featured green as the main color.

2001 – 2014

The visual identity was redesigned again in 2001. The black frame was removed from the flag, so now the emblem was only composed of four waving squares, which changed their colors to lighter ones. As for the wordmark, it was also refined and now featured a thinner and more elegant sans-serif typeface.

2006 – 2017

In 2006, with the release of Windows Vista, the emblem got flatter and more modern design. It was still executed in gradient colors, but the texture of the squares was in 2D. The word “Microsoft” is removed from the logo, which makes it look more minimalist and professional.

2009 – 2020

With the launch of Windows 7 in 2009, the logo was slightly changed again — the emblem is now enlarged and the colors of the squares are more intense.

2012 – 2016

The new era of the visual identity design starts for Windows in 2012. Now the company uses only blue color for its logo. The wave shape is gone, the emblem is strict and geometric. It is still composed of four squares, but now the window symbol is placed in half-turn.

2013 – Today

The emblem, created for Windows 8.1 is flat and modest, enough professionally executed , and evokes a sense of confidence and modernity. It is a solid square, composed of four smaller blue ones, separated with thin white lines. The emblem, placed in ¾ is set on the left from a neat sans-serif logotype in the title case .

2015 – Today

In 2015 the sky-blue of the logo is replaced by a calmer and darker tone, which looks more professional and evokes a sense of reliability and protection. The wordmark was also refined and became thinner and cleaner.

2020 – Today

The latest version of the logo was created for Windows 10X in 2020. The wordmark still uses the shade of blue from the previous version, but the emblem is now drawn in gradient tones, looking brighter and fresher.

The simple yet strong inscription is written in a traditional sans-serif typeface, which is Myriad Pro. It balanced the bold and bright emblem, adding a sense of expertise and security.

Symbol

It was only in 2001 that the logo saw a more impactful update, which was connected with the release of XP. The black outline was gone, the overall look of the logotype became clearer. Also, certain graphic tools were applied, due to which the logo acquired a 3D look.

Getting ready for the release of the Vista operating system, the designers updated the emblem once again. The “flag” was placed inside a circle shape with dark blue filler. Also, one more new visual tool was applied to the symbol, adding dimension. The shade of blue was slightly modified.

The release of Windows 7 coincided with the introduction of an updated symbol. This time, the circle shape was removed leaving a logotype cleaner and fresher. Actually, it looked exactly as the 2001 version, except for a couple of graphic effects and a subtle shift in colors.

The 2012 emblem

Probably the most noticeable change to the Windows logo in this century coincided with the release of the Windows 8 operating system. The four-color emblem was replaced by a simple light blue one created by Wolff Olins. The aim was to make the icon closer to the new Metro design language. One of the distinctive features of this design language was that it focused on one color.

The new color scheme was not the only change. The 2012 logo featured a realistic window design instead of the usual emblem resembling a flag.

Windows 10 logo

In comparison with the previous version, the Windows 10 logo features a darker shade of blue. Also, letters are somewhat thinner. The beta version of the operating system was released in 2014, while the final version appeared at the market in 2015.

Starting with Windows 8, the wordmarks used by the company were based on the Segoe font. The type has been slightly modified.

Color

The current version of the Windows logo sports only one color, dark blue. This is one of the requirements of the New Metro design language.

Video

Microsoft Windows

Codename: «Interface Manager» (1.01-1.04)

Background: The earliest confirmed build of Windows 1.0 dates back to May 1983 and was the feature of an article in BYTE magazine. Windows 1.0 is the first public version of the Windows line of operating systems (although Windows 1 through 3.1 were graphical shells installed on top of MS-DOS). Unlike future versions, Windows 1.x is the only one not to include overlapping and freely positionable windows on the desktop. Apple’s Macintosh, released the previous year, already used overlapping windows. Microsoft decided to use «tiling» (which has made a bit of a comeback since Windows 7) in order to avoid a lawsuit from Apple.

Trivia: The date on this operating system does not go further than 1999. If a user attempts to change the date to the year 2000 or onward, the system will display a three-digit number ranging from 100-199.

Nicknames:

• Versions 1.01-1.03: «8-Bit Microsoft Logo»
• Versions 1.04-2.11: «8-Bit MS Pac-Man»

Screen : On a blue background, we see two white segmented copies of the then-current Microsoft logo at the top of the screen, blending together to form one whole logo. After they blend, text appears below the logo that reads «Microsoft Windows, Version 1.01.»in white At the bottom of the screen is a copyright notice.

FX/SFX: The Microsoft logo forming.

Cheesy Factor: Although this doesn’t hold up to today’s standards, you have to remember that this was made in the 1980s, which was before any kind of rendering or photo-manipulation software.

• Normal variant: None.
• 1.x «Glitch» : Depends; it can range from low to nightmare. The screen suddenly becoming corrupted can throw more than some off, especially when combined with the beeping sounds. It’s somewhat similar to macOS’s «Sad Mac», since it can a sign your computer has a critical error, or is damaged.

Codename(s): None

Background: The earliest confirmed build of Windows 3.0 dates back to February 22, 1989. Windows 3.0 was the first widely successful build of Windows. It included a significantly revamped interface and technical improvements to make better use of memory management for Intel processors. Unlike Windows 1.0 and 2.0, which had a very limited color palette for colored menus and window boxes with in-application graphics being monochrome (black & white), Windows 3.0 supported up to 256 colors.

Screen : On a blue-violet (or sometimes, dark blue ) background, we see the «Pac-Man» Microsoft logo, on the top of the screen, in a lighter shade of the background color. In the center, we see the following:

On the bottom, we see a copyright notice.

Variants:

• On computers running Windows MPC , » Version 3 .0 » is replaced with » graphi cal environment with Multimedia Extensions 1.0 «, and below that we see the MPC logo, which consists of a square . Inside the square is an «M» (bearing a resemblance to the Miramax wordmark) with a spinning disc (CD) below it. Right n ext to i t is » PC «. Below the trademark is » Multimedia PC «. To make room, the text and logomarks have been shifted up a little.
• On Windows 3.1 version 3.10.26, the version number is changed to read 3.1.
• On Windows 3.1 Beta Release 2, a large white box is seen with the text «BETA RELEASE 2». Below it, «THIS PRODUCT IS A PRE-RELEASE VERSION A ND MAY BE USED ONLY IN ACCORD ANCE WITH THE TERMS OF THE MICROSOFT WINDOWS NON-DISCLOSURE AG REEMENT».

FX/SFX : None.

Chees y Factor : Same as above, but from the early 1990s.

Startup Sound (Mu sic/Sounds) : None.

Availability : Extremely rare. Only on computers runn ing Windows 3.0, Windows MPC 1.0, or earl y Windows 3.1 beta releases.

Scare Factor : None t o min imal. The sudden appearance of the screen can startle a few people wa iting on a black scr een.

Screen : We see a turquoise rectangle in the center of the screen. Inside the turquoise rectangle, the then-current Windows logo could be seen (consisting of 4 panels, red , green , b lue and yellow in a «flying» black window pane.)Underneath of that are the words » MICROSOFT WINDOWS » in a serif font. Underneath of that, in a smaller serif font, are the words » Version 3.1 «. At the bottom of the rectangle is a copyright notice.

Variants:

• The final beta release of Windows 3.1 contains a small white rectangle with the text » Final Beta Release » in it, which is placed in between » Version 3.1 » and the copyright notice.
• On Windows 3.2 Chinese, the version number is changed to ‘3.2’ and there’s Chinese characters under it.
• On Version 3.11, it’s says » Version 3.11 » under the ‘Windows’ text.
• On portable touchscreen devices (not so portable at the time), » FOR PEN COMPUTING » is added into the logo; somewhat like this: » FOR » is tilted 90 degrees counterclockwise, » PEN » is right next to » FOR «. Below that is » COMPUTING «, and below all that is » Version 1.0 «. Everything else is as is.
• On preliminary developer releases, » PRELIMINARY RELEASE FOR DEVELOPERS » is seen in an Army font, covering up » Version 3.1 «. The rectangle is also light gray .
• On business computers, » MICROSOFT » is tilted 90 degrees counterclockwise, » WINDOWS » is much more stretched, and » FOR WORKGROUPS » is seen below the logo. The rest is as is.
• On Windows NT 3.1, the rectangle is light gray and the text is carved in the rectangle. » NT » is added next to » WINDOWS «.
  • Beta releases of Windows NT 3.1 contained the text » BETA — » (pretty much the same thing as » PRELIMINARY RELEASE FOR DEVELOPERS «). Following it would be the beta release month and year ( OCTOBER 1992 , MARCH 1993 ).
  • Server operating systems contained «ADVANCED SERVER» below the text.
  • On a beta version of Windows NT Advanced Server 3.5, the logo changed to a white flag with the Windows logo in it.

File:Windows logo — 2012.svg

Original file ‎ (SVG file, nominally 88 × 88 pixels, file size: 486 bytes)

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Summary [ edit ]

Description Windows logo — 2012.svg
Date	12 August 2012
Source	This file was derived from: Windows 8 logo and wordmark.svg:
Author	Original work: Microsoft File:Windows 8 logo and wordmark.svg: Multiple editors; see image description page This work: Fry1989
Other versions	Windows logo — 1985 Windows logo — 2002–2012 (Black) Windows logo — 2002–2012 (multi-colored) Windows Phone 7.5 logo (red) Windows logo – 2012 (red) Windows logo — 2012 (purple) Windows logo — 2012 (blue-purple) Windows logo — 2012 (dark blue) Windows logo – 2012 (blue) Windows logo — 2012 (black) Windows logo — 2012 derivative (multi-colored) Windows Phone 7 logo and wordmark (red) Windows Phone 7 logo and wordmark (orange) Windows Phone 7 logo and wordmark (green) Windows Phone 7 logo and wordmark (blue) Windows Azure logo and wordmark — 2012 (orange) Windows Phone 8 logo and wordmark (red) Windows Phone 8 logo and wordmark (purple) Windows Embedded 8 Logo and wordmark (purple) Windows Server 2012 logo and wordmark (purple) Windows 10 logo and wordmark (blue) Windows logo and wordmark – 2012 (dark blue) Windows logo and wordmark – 2012 (blue) Windows 8 logo and wordmark (blue) Windows Embedded 8 Logo and wordmark (blue) Windows Essentials logo and wordmark (blue) Windows RT logo and wordmark (blue) Windows key logo 2012 (dark-grey, for small sizes) [ edit ]
SVG development	The source code of this SVG is valid . This text-logo was created with Inkscape-default

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