Bing is Microsoft’s web search engine, launched on June 1, 2009, replacing Live Search as the company’s search product.[1] The service was renamed Microsoft Bing in October 2020, reflecting what Microsoft described as “the continued integration of our search experiences across the Microsoft family.”[2]
Design and History
The original Bing logo, introduced with the search engine’s 2009 launch, featured rounded lowercase lettering in blue with a yellow dot for the “i.”[1] The mark was designed by Razorfish, then Microsoft’s digital advertising division, which was later acquired by the French advertising group Publicis.[3] The design drew criticism: design firm UnderConsideration’s Brand New blog ranked it the worst logo of 2009 in its annual reader survey.[4]
In September 2013, Bing introduced a new logo that dropped the blue color scheme for a golden yellow, the exact hue used in one quadrant of Microsoft’s four-color corporate logo.[5] The redesign was intended to bring Bing in line with Microsoft’s overall branding, which had been created by Pentagram partner Paula Scher and developed by Wolff Olins.[6] Microsoft said the new identity was designed to “instantly feel at home alongside all Microsoft products.”[7]
In January 2016, Microsoft updated the logo again, switching the color from yellow to green and capitalizing the “b.”[8] A Microsoft spokeswoman said the green was chosen partly because it “is easier to see over yellow.”[9]
In October 2020, Bing was rebranded as Microsoft Bing, accompanied by a new logo featuring a more contemporary, curved lowercase “b” with subtle gradients, replacing the sharper geometric design.[10] The curvier logo had been in testing since April of that year before rolling out more widely.[11]
Typography and Design
The 2013 Bing logo was set in a customized version of Microsoft’s Segoe font.[5] Microsoft detailed several typographic decisions in the redesign: the lowercase “b” was retained “to provide a slightly less obtrusive stance,” the descender on the “g” was modified to curve upward “in a friendlier manner,” and the cut on the top of the “b” mirrored the angle on the cut of the “t” in the Microsoft logo.[5] The kerning pairs of the “i” and the “n” matched those in the Windows wordmark.[5]
The 2013 identity also introduced a stylized “b” symbol described by Microsoft as evoking “a sense of movement, direction and energy.”[5] Scott Erikson, senior director of brand and creative for Bing, described the new logo as “simple, real and direct,” noting that the team explored “from simple evolutions to ridiculous explorations” during development.[12]
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