While the jury’s still out on whether Microsoft’s new rebrand as part of the Windows 8 release is a perfect specimen, overall it’s definitely a step in the right direction in terms of its simplicity and demonstration of the increasingly mature design culture brewing in Redmond. Most entertaining have been the array of “looks like” comments, which are surprisingly diverse given the simplicity of the form:
- blue screen of death
- a Scandinavian flag
- a cross
- a bento box
- a picture frame that needs adjusting
- the Windows 1.0 logo (is this a criticism or a clever throwback?)
Regardless of whether you love it or hate it, the ferver of reactions is one of many recent reminders that both the media and the increasingly design-savvy consumer are vocal in their public scrutiny of brands that effect the products we use each and every day.
