The Real Upcoming Slogan – Be What’s Next!

Apparently, the real purpose of the conference was to unveil a new slogan to go with the Microsoft logo. This was the only part of the video that the Redmond Company confirmed. Microsoft will be getting a new motto to go along with its logo design. According to the software giant the new tagline is “Be What’s Next.”  Users should expect to see this motto on Microsoft products in the near future.  

New Brand Logos or Concepts?

A few months back confusion caused Apple logo design folly to surface. This video does the same for Microsoft. It shows a fast moving sequence of morphing logos, shifting from Windows logo, to Windows Phone logo, Xbox logo, Bing logo, and finally the Office logo. While Microsoft clarified that the designs shown in the MGX were merely illustrating the “flexibility” of the software giant’s brands.     Following images are quiet blur, as these are the snippets sliced from the available videos, picked them from engadget.com so you could have a quick look for each of the brand logos concept.  

Windows Logo Design Concept:

Windows Phone Logo Design Concept:

XBOX Logo Design Concept:

Bing Logo Design Concept:

MS Office Logo Design Concept:

Question of the Post?

Imagine just for a second that you weren’t a logo designer. No need to get scared folks…just visualize yourself for a minute as someone who knows nothing about the field of logo design. What would you have been then? I’m sure that many of you can’t even think of being anything other than a logo/graphics designer. This also applies to the people belonging to other professions.

Being completely honest, everyone would agree that professions are driven by the need to earn. But equally strong is the passion for the work. A person’s occupational destiny is motivated by either money or passion. Today I wish to list few absurd but probable suggestions that you could have ended up if you hadn’t been what you are right now.

1. Professional Footballer:
	Yes, this is one of the several vague possibilities that you could have become. Imagine yourself playing with the likes of Cristiana Ronaldo, Kaka and David Beckham. Instead of designing logos on the PC, you would be designing play moves and tactics on the field. You might even make it to the FIFA World Cup 2014. But the question is…would you really want that over being a logo designer?

2. Rocket Scientist:
Now this is one place a nerdy designer could have ended up easily. Picture yourself as a rocket scientist, instead of learning the history and future of logo design, you would be studying about aeronautical engineering and the laws of aerodynamics. Notwithstanding the fact that it is one of the coolest jobs to do, but you have to ask this from yourself…are you really built for it?

3. Actor / Model:

So…you dream of starring in a movie? Or maybe desire appearing in a popular brand commercial as a model. What would your world be like had you chosen to be an actor/model and not a logo designer? While I know that the logo design world might not have much of the glitz and glamour, but it’s not always the fame and money that drive a person’s ambitions. Would you have preferred being an actor or a model over being a graphic or logo designer?

4. Frustrated Dad/Husband:
This is one place nobody would want to wind up in. This is the worst case scenario that you can think of ending up in. This is the frustrated and unemployed person who is constantly struggling to make a living and at the same time face the taunts of his wife and kids. Wouldn’t want to end up there would you? This is where you must be glad that at least you’re a logo designer.

5. Psychic Doctor:
	This one tops the charts. Imagine you weren’t a logo designer and you also couldn’t find another profession to work in. You might probably end up becoming a psychic doctor. Now wouldn’t that be perfect? Far away from the logo designing mistakes, you are dealing with mental patients all day long. Talk about dealing with clients who don’t pay.

Since its inception in May 21, 2010, the US Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) has been in the news largely because of the mystery behind its logo. Apart from its fancy logo design, the real attention getter was the strange string of characters inscribed in the inner gold ring of the logo. As it turns out, there really was a secret message inscribed in the US Cyber Command logo after all.

This was another addition to the series of logo design controversies particularly relating to US Government departments. A few months back, the US Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency was in the limelight for its similarities with the Islamic crescent and the Iranian Space Agency logo.  

Where is the Secret Code?

At a first glance, it might evade the viewer, but at a closer perusal of the logo, you will find that the US Cyber Command emblem consists of 32 random characters “9ec4c12949a4f31474f299058ce2b22a” embedded in its inner gold ring. Online technology magazine Wired.com was the first to bring this to notice and launched a contest to solve the puzzling cryptogram.

What does the code mean?

If you enter the above mission statement into an MD5 hash generator, the 32 character string “9ec4c12949a4f31474f299058ce2b22a” inscribed on the USCYBERCOM logo is generated. An extremely perplexing logic behind a logo designed for a Cyber War Agency.

You Decide!

I have been asked many a times by some of my readers as to why the prices of notable logos are seldom told? This simple yet intricate query compelled me to probe the matter. After an extensive research and hours of painstaking Google search, I managed to round up the prices of 9 famous logos along with their respective designers.

Following is a table featuring 10 prominent logo designs with their price and other statistics.