After last month’s new “rebranding” effort by Microsoft, one designer apparently didn’t feel the look was up to par, and decided to do something about it. The look is so much sleeker, the new font looks more professional and the overall feel of Microsoft as a brand jumps up a few points with Andrew Kim’s updated design concept.

I’m sure that Microsoft is very comfortable with keeping their look the same, which may be part of the problem for the company. Innovation and driving your company forward is what gets people initially to your brand, and it’s a big part of what keeps them coming back for more. Let’s take a look at the evolution of the Microsoft logo over the years:

While the new logo is certainly an improvement over the original logo from 1975, it just doesn’t say anything about the company’s willingness or desire to move FORWARD. If Microsoft wants to really try to give Apple more and more competition over the coming years, this design concept (or anything else that was somewhat original) would have been a great way to start out.

Now, take a look at Andrew Kim‘s entire concept for rebranding Microsoft, and be the judge yourself.

As Alex Williams of TechCrunch says, “Windows is over. It’s outdated. It represents the past. Windows Phone and Surface are hindered by the Windows brand.” Alas, we’ll just have to see how their “new” logo works out…

(Thanks to Andrew Kim & Minimally Minimal for the design concept link!)