Microsoft Word Logo PNG
Microsoft Word is a word-processing editor, designed in 1983 for creating text documents. The program can be installed on Windows, Mac, and Android operating systems on its own or as a part of the Windows Office package.
Meaning and history
The Microsoft logo history was very intense, there were about ten redesigns, made to the editor’s visual identity during its existence. But the style we all recognize now was born in the 1990s.
What is Microsoft Word?
Microsoft Word is one of the essential programs of Microsoft Office. In Word, you can create text files, share them, and edit them. Microsoft Word is one of the most popular text editors used by millions of people across the globe.
1983 – 1987
The original Microsoft Word logo was a simple wordmark in all capitals, written in a white sans-serif typeface and placed into a black horizontally located rectangle.
1987 – 1991
In 1987 the first Word icon was designed. The thick letter “W” in bright yellow placed above a sheet with a purple square and a white “W” on its top left corner. Both the sheet and the “W” were placed diagonally.
The “Microsoft” inscription was located on the upper side of the emblem and executed in light gray.
1991 – 1993
In 1991 the color palette of the emblem was slightly changed. Both yellow “W” and a purple square were colored in two different shades of blue.
1993 – 1995
In 1993 the light blue color palette remains, but the composition of the emblem changes. Now the “W”, with its left bar elongated and pointing left, stands on a waving sheet. This logo stays with Word for only two years.
1995 – 1999
The prototype of all subsequent Word logos was designed in 1995. The capital “W” in a bold serif typeface is placed on the left side of the square, above the diagonally placed sheet of paper with text on it.
1999 – 2003
The logo from 1999 depicts the “W” in the same style, but with bolder lines, executed in a deep blue and enclosed in a blue square frame, with its corners slightly rounded. This icon is still in use for Word 97-2003 file formats.
2003 – 2007
In 2003 the logo became more three-dimensional, with a glossy surface and gradient colors. The “W” now has a thin outline and a light shadow.
2007 – 2010
In 2007 the Word logo was completely redesigned. Now the emblem depicts a paper sheet with text and “W” in its upper left corner, placed above the petal-like blue figure. The new icon stays with the software for three years.
2010 – 2013
The redesign of 2010 brings back the massive “W”. It is drawn in an intense blue and placed above the sheet image. The petal figure turns into a blue square with its upper left corner rounded.
2013 – 2019
The new design of the Word logo was created in 2013. It is simple and modern. The white “W” is placed on the cover of a blue notebook which is slightly opened. The logo was used by Word 2016 and 2019.
2019 – Today
The Word logo was created in 2019 with the new company’s approach, called Fluent Design. It is a layered emblem, consisting of two blue squares, overlapping. The bigger square has four equal stripes, each of them is colored in its own shade of blue, from lighter to darker, from top to the bottom.
The white “W” is placed on a smaller blue square with rounded angles, which is located in the left part of the logo.
Icon
The icon of Microsoft Word shows a blue vertical rectangle composed of several sections in different shades of blue, with the lightest one on top, and the darkest — on the bottom. The main rectangle is accompanied by a solid blue square with the white letter “W” on it. This element is glued to the central point of the left side of the rectangle. The whole composition is placed on a white background.
Font and color
The clean medium-weight sans-serif letter “W” from the Microsoft Word icon is set in a modern geometric typeface with distinctive contours, straight bars, and cuts of the ends. The “W” from the Word insignia looks pretty similar to the same character of such iconic typefaces as Neue Frutiger Arabic Bold, or Humanist 777 Std Bold.
As for the color palette of the Microsoft Word visual identity, it is set in a combination of four shades of blue and white, which evokes a sense of professionalism, confidence, and excellence, at the same time looking progressive and fresh.
