First, let’s get the technicalities out of the way: “Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web.” In other words, it’s the next “Flash killer” but, as we all know, it’s rare that anything positioned as a [blank]-killer can actually pull the trigger, so Silverlight needs all the flash it can get. And, by heavens, is that logo ready for 2007 primetime! As an identity that will live 99.99% of its time in online and on-screen applications this new identity excels as a nebulous-abstract-who-cares-what-it-is piece of eye candy that should at least position Silverlight as the media application of the future. (Despite its almost-ten-years-in-the-making ubiquity, Adobe’s Flash Player is looking a tad tired.) While the Blobby Ball of Nebulousness™ keeps my eyes affixed to it, I can’t help but be broken out from its spell by the faux Myriad typeface used for the name — why Microsoft can’t opt for good typography has always baffled me — Gotham, Futura, Helvetica, anything but this would make their design stand out so much more. Wait— what’s that? Mmmmm… Nebulousness. Juicy close-up of it after the jump.

More images, and the unfortunate Windowization of the logo, here.

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Step into the Silverlight

\n\nFirst, let's get the technicalities out of the way: \"Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web.\" In other words, it's the next \"Flash killer\" but, as we all know, it's rare that anything positioned as a [blank]-killer can actually pull the trigger, so Silverlight needs all the flash it can get. And, by heavens, is that logo ready for 2007 primetime! As an identity that will live 99.99% of its time in online and on-screen applications this new identity excels as a nebulous-abstract-who-cares-what-it-is piece of eye candy that should at least position Silverlight as the media application of the future. (Despite its almost-ten-years-in-the-making ubiquity, Adobe's Flash Player is looking a tad tired.) While the Blobby Ball of Nebulousness™ keeps my eyes affixed to it, I can't help but be broken out from its spell by the faux Myriad typeface used for the name — why Microsoft can't opt for good typography has always baffled me — Gotham, Futura, Helvetica, anything but this would make their design stand out so much more. Wait— what's that? Mmmmm… Nebulousness. Juicy close-up of it after the jump.