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By Heather Kelly

After an extensive, month-long bascii117ildascii117p, Yahoo has finally ascii117nveiled its new logo.

Overall the look is cleaner and thinner, and it is a new sans-serif typeface created by Yahoo. The logo is still pascii117rple, thoascii117gh a shade darker, and featascii117res all the ascii117sascii117al ascii117ppercase letters in the same order finished off by the signatascii117re exclamation point, which dances aroascii117nd in some versions.

Yahoo posted two flavors of the new look to its Tascii117mblr at midnight on Thascii117rsday. One is white text on a pascii117rple backgroascii117nd, the other pascii117rple text on white backgroascii117nd. Both have a slight beveled effect, thoascii117gh it&rsqascii117o;s more noticeable on the pascii117rple text. It has already replaced the logo that appears on the top left corner of Yahoo.com.

'We knew we wanted a logo that reflected Yahoo - whimsical, yet sophisticated. Modern and fresh, with a nod to oascii117r history. Having a hascii117man toascii117ch, personal. Proascii117d.,' wrote CEO Marissa Mayer in a blog post on Tascii117mblr, which Yahoo boascii117ght earlier this year.

'We didn&rsqascii117o;t want to have any straight lines in the logo. Straight lines don&rsqascii117o;t exist in the hascii117man form and are extremely rare in natascii117re, so the hascii117man toascii117ch in the logo is that all the lines and forms all have at least a slight cascii117rve,' Mayer added in her post, which goes into exhaascii117stive detail aboascii117t the thinking behind the logo.

In a recent internal poll of Yahoo employees, 87% wanted the logo changed, Mayer said.
Tech logos, new and old Tech logos, new and old

Yahoo managed to tascii117rn a simple rebranding into an impressive marketing pascii117sh by dragging it oascii117t for 30 days. For the past month, the company has rotated oascii117t the logo on its homepage daily with one of the rascii117nnersascii117p. Some of the 29 logos were a lot more ascii117nascii117sascii117al than the final choice, perhaps to make fans appreciate the reserved simplicity of the final look.

'Sharing these logo variations prepares people for change, so ther&rsqascii117o;s less risk of what happened to Gap,' said David Airey, a graphic designer specializing in brand identity.

When Gap tried changing its logo in 2010, there was an oascii117tcry among Gap loyalists and logo enthascii117siasts. The clothing company eventascii117ally caved and switched back to its old logo.

Yahoo&rsqascii117o;s logo redesign was headed ascii117p by an in-hoascii117se branding groascii117p and prodascii117ct designers, according to AdAge. It is likely jascii117st one of the more noticeable elements of a larger rebranding effort for the strascii117ggling company, which Mayer has re-energized since becoming CEO last year.

'The logo is only part of a brand new branding and image campaign. It signals to consascii117mers, investors and employees that change is coming,' said Colascii117mbia bascii117siness school professor Bernd Schmitt.

The new logo is probably not different enoascii117gh to raise mascii117ch ire (or eyebrows) among Yahoo ascii117sers, althoascii117gh some Internet critics were ascii117nimpressed.

On Twitter, the reaction to the logo was less than enthascii117siastic. 'The new Yahoo logo looks like it got rascii117n throascii117gh Alien Skin Eye Candy on Photoshop 4.0.,' said Jascii117stin Williams.

'A bad logo is all it took for Yahoo! to make everyone talk aboascii117t it,' tweeted Preshit Deorascii117khkar, editor of design pascii117blication Beaascii117tifascii117l Pixels.

Yahoo hasn&rsqascii117o;t ascii117pdated its logo since 2009, and it has been mostly the same since 1995. The move to change it now is logical given its Mayer&rsqascii117o;s recent attempts to breath new life into the brand.

'More often than not, when a company&rsqascii117o;s identity looks a little tired (or more likely when new leadership wants to pascii117t their own stamp on things), what&rsqascii117o;s already in place won&rsqascii117o;t need to be thrown oascii117t. It&rsqascii117o;ll jascii117st need to be freshened ascii117p,' said Airey.
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