Microsoft Edge is the web browser Microsoft introduced in 2015 as the successor to Internet Explorer on Windows 10. Its visual identity has undergone two distinct phases, with the most significant change arriving in 2019 alongside the browser’s rebuild on Google’s open-source Chromium engine.
Design and History
Edge’s first logo, introduced with the browser’s 2015 launch, closely resembled Internet Explorer’s iconic blue “e,” featuring a linear redrawing of the well-known symbol. This design maintained visual continuity with its predecessor while signaling a new technology direction.[1]
In November 2019, Microsoft unveiled a new logo for the Chromium-based Edge browser. The updated mark forms a more abstract, wave-like structure that still suggests the letter “e” but departs significantly from the Internet Explorer aesthetic.[2] The redesign was described by The Verge as the first significant move away from the classic blue “e” logo that Microsoft had used for its browsers for more than 20 years.[3]
The new logo was revealed through an elaborate Easter egg hunt, where users solved puzzles and clues posted by Microsoft employees on Reddit, ultimately leading to a surfing mini game hidden inside Canary versions of Edge. Completing the game revealed the new icon.[4] Microsoft officially introduced the logo at its Ignite 2019 conference on November 4, 2019.[5]
The Chromium-based Edge browser, carrying the new logo, launched publicly on January 15, 2020, for Windows and macOS.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Modern Life & Devices, Yusuf Mehdi, stated that the new logo “is designed to capture the waves of innovation that we plan to bring to you.”[6] The wave-like form was widely noted by design and technology press, with The Verge describing the icon as looking like “a wave surfing the web.”[4]
The new mark retains the letter “e” form but eliminates the orbiting ring graphic that was a key component of previous Internet Explorer and Edge logos.[7] The design was intended to distance Edge from Microsoft’s legacy browser Internet Explorer.[8]
Typography and Design
The new Edge icon incorporates a blue-to-green gradient and follows the Fluent Design style also used in Microsoft’s refreshed Office icons.[4] The design was created by Microsoft’s in-house creative team, according to Spanish design publication Experimenta.[9] At the time of the logo’s unveiling, Microsoft was not able to confirm who had designed it.[1]
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