SkypeCopied

In June 2017 Microsoft overhauled Skype's apps with what The Verge called a radical redesign, complete with Snapchat-like features such as Highlights, a stories-style feed. A new logo came with it.

The friendly cloud that had framed Skype's name for years was gone. Skype had already been using part of the new mark for a while, and the change moved the rest of the wordmark to Microsoft's corporate typeface. The Verge noted it was far more consistent with Office and Microsoft's other software and services, and likely reflected a push to position Skype as business communications software. The new design arrived first on Android, with Windows and iOS to follow.

The work was done by Microsoft. No outside agency was named in coverage of the launch.

The redesign around the logo flopped. TechCrunch reported poor App Store and Google Play reviews accusing Skype of Snapchat envy, and the BBC quoted users calling it the worst ever update. In September 2018 Microsoft reversed course: design director Peter Skillman wrote that calling had become harder and Highlights had not resonated with most users, and the app dropped stories, cut its navigation to Chats, Calls and Contacts, and toned down the colour. The logo survived the rollback; the ideas around it did not.

The new mark arrived with a product most users rejected. A month after launch, The Verge found App Store ratings had collapsed: one star in the UK and down from 3.5 to 1.5 in the US, with reviewers calling it the worst Skype update ever and the Snapchat-style Highlights feature a transparent bid to copy a rival. The Verge's critique was that Microsoft had painted over long-standing notification and sync problems with emoji in video calls rather than fixing them, while WhatsApp and Messenger won by keeping things simple. It framed the choice as walking back to simplicity or pushing on and risking users leaving.

The Verge's headline said it plainly: the logo ditches the iconic clouds. That is the loss. The cloud was the most personal thing about Skype, a hint of chat-with-grandma warmth inside a Microsoft product. Folding it into the corporate type system made sense on a spreadsheet and drained the brand of much of its personality.