MSN made its debut with the release of Windows 95. It was not designed to give full internet access, so a year later Microsoft released the Internet Explorer web browser.
The name was written entirely in lowercase with a dot at the end and the N is bolder and in red.
1996–1998[]
In 1996, the M was capitalized, but still retained the same height as the rest of the letters. Other changes include the acronym that was written vertically as opposed to horizontally, the yellow sphere added to the left and the removal of the dot.
1998–2000[]
This is the first logo with the classic wordmark that would be used for 12 years. The entire acronym became monochrome, bold and italic.
In February 2000, MSN introduced a new logo featuring a stylized butterfly, which would be used until the following decade. Due to its long use on many of Microsoft's products, this logo can still be found on certain webpages on some portals or within certain software, such as MSN Explorer. This logo was still used on the MSN Member Center website using the Windows XP-style look and feel until 2016, and on the Microsoft Update site in Windows Vista, alongside the 2003 Microsoft Office logo and the 1987 Microsoft logo.
On December 29, 2009, MSN began phasing in a revised version of its 2000 butterfly logo, which would later take full effect in March 2010. Brand New named this the second worst logo of 2010 (after Bing, another Microsoft product). This logo was still used on Ninemsn (albeit altered) until 2016 and is still used on some parts of MSN Games.
2014–present[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Segoe UI
Launched:
October 8, 2014
This logo was released on October 8, 2014. It uses the new Microsoft font that was first used 2 years earlier and the butterfly is now monochrome.
Notes: 1 Became independent before becoming a Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiary in 2022 2 Were moved to work on other Microsoft Software departments 3 consolidated 4 Sold to Take-Two Interactive, later being defunct
Notes: 1 Became independent before becoming a Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiary in 2022 2 Were moved to work on other Microsoft Software departments 3 consolidated 4 Sold to Take-Two Interactive, later being defunct
Notes: 1Nokia phone brand licensing was sold to Human Mobile Devices in 2016. The original Nokia company continues to exist. 2Developer Kit hardware was discontinued in 2023. Azure Kinect technologies continued to be licensed to its partners.