{"id":1860,"date":"2025-04-16T13:02:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/?p=1860"},"modified":"2025-04-17T22:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T22:55:19","slug":"windows-wordart-whats-next-a-90s-kid-reflects-on-microsofts-50-year-brand-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/windows-wordart-whats-next-a-90s-kid-reflects-on-microsofts-50-year-brand-evolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows, WordArt, & What\u2019s Next: A 90s Kid Reflects on Microsoft\u2019s 50-Year Brand Evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a kid, I would spend hours in Microsoft Paint sketching what I thought were pixel-perfect purple dolphins and my own sticker designs. A few years later, I was introduced to Clippy and WordArt, and suddenly, Microsoft Word wasn\u2019t just for book reports; it became a creative playground for binder designs and birthday invites. Being a 90s kid, Microsoft was my constant companion, threaded through early creativity, awkward adolescent presentations, and the thrill of getting your first Hotmail address \u2014 you know the one \u2014 that your 13-year-old mind thought was cool; discochick00@hotmail.com anyone? So when brand and digital studio Koto<\/a> released Microsoft\u2019s 50th Anniversary<\/a> identity, I excitedly braced for nostalgia and got something much richer.<\/p>\n

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Rather than lean into sentimental retrospection, Koto\u2019s work<\/a> reframes Microsoft\u2019s legacy through the lens of makers: those who shaped, built, and dreamed across five decades. The strategy, anchored in the phrase \u201cChange needs makers,\u201d doesn\u2019t just look backward; it invites the next generation to join in the making. And in doing so, it reclaims Microsoft\u2019s brand not just as a tech platform, but as a creative force rooted in empowerment.<\/p>\n

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The campaign is built on a dynamic, modular identity system that feels alive. Visual compositions move between three main structures: \u201cWorlds,\u201d \u201cIconic Moments,\u201d and \u201cThen & Now.\u201d These are less design gimmicks and more storytelling tools. \u201cWorlds\u201d places people at the center of richly imagined environments, surrounded by products and ideas that shaped their creativity. \u201cIconic Moments\u201d looks back on milestones, such as the launch of Xbox or the first versions of Windows, not as static achievements but as cultural shifts. And \u201cThen & Now\u201d plays with time, pairing historic innovations with today\u2019s breakthroughs to show a brand that never stopped evolving.<\/p>\n

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This identity system is distinctly Microsoft in tone but unmistakably Koto in execution; expressive, intentional, and full of movement. Typography plays a big role in keeping it grounded: Segoe Sans Display, Microsoft\u2019s familiar typeface, lends continuity and clarity while subtly signaling evolution. And the six heritage-inspired gradient backgrounds used across the campaign are pure energy \u2014 warm, modern, and unified without feeling uniform.<\/p>\n

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What makes this work resonate isn\u2019t the polish. It\u2019s the pulse.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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But what makes this work resonate isn\u2019t the polish. It\u2019s the pulse. Koto smartly avoids the trap of building a retrospective shrine. Instead, the design lives in the present and points toward the future. From a reimagined 50th-anniversary logo that riffs on the original Windows mark to playful digital artifacts used in motion and 3D, every detail feels purposeful and people-centered. The campaign spans digital platforms, physical signage, internal comms, and real-world activations, proving that even the most tech-centric brands still live and die by how human they feel.<\/p>\n

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This campaign had to honor Microsoft\u2019s legacy without feeling nostalgic for nostalgia\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

Cassidy Moriarty, strategy director at Koto<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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As someone whose earliest interface with technology was through a Windows desktop, this campaign hit differently. It reminds me how much design, particularly brand identity, can shape the way we understand legacy. Microsoft isn\u2019t waxing poetic about its past; it\u2019s inviting us to help write what\u2019s next. Cassidy Moriarty, Koto\u2019s strategy director, put it best: \u201cThis campaign had to honor Microsoft\u2019s legacy without feeling nostalgic for nostalgia\u2019s sake.\u201d That\u2019s exactly what they pulled off.<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s most impressive here is the clarity of voice. Whether you\u2019re a Millennial who remembers Encarta or a Gen Z creator using Copilot, the identity bridges time without pandering. It balances reverence with relevance. And it serves as a blueprint for how major brands can celebrate a milestone without turning it into a museum exhibit.<\/p>\n

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In a sea of anniversary campaigns that often feel like corporate scrapbook pages, Microsoft\u2019s 50th stands out for its vitality. A reminder that the tools of change are in our hands, and always have been.<\/p>\n

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The post Windows, WordArt, & What\u2019s Next: A 90s Kid Reflects on Microsoft\u2019s 50-Year Brand Evolution<\/a> appeared first on PRINT Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a kid, I would spend hours in Microsoft Paint sketching what I thought were pixel-perfect purple dolphins and my own sticker designs. A few years later, I was introduced to Clippy and WordArt, and suddenly, Microsoft Word wasn\u2019t just for book reports; it became a creative playground for binder designs and birthday invites. Being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1860"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1887,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions\/1887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.storybooksaintbernards.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}