This article, by Amit Mirchandani, MD at Lucid Design, was published in issue 06 of Social Technology Quarterly. Summary:

1. Kuliza
3. Mindtree
Mindtree’s original logo looked more appropriate as
the signboard to a less discerning art gallery rather
than a logo for a global information technology
services corporation with 11,000 employees based
all around the world. The revised logo is certainly
more appropriate if not a little expected for what such
a corporation ought to look like. Nevertheless, it is a
very positive step in the right direction, communicating
capability, professionalism, technology, and a global
perspective.
1. Microsoft
Microsoft has taken a page out of Apple’s mandate on
simplicity to reveal this new logo. Referring to some of
its consumer logos from the past, the new logo does
away with the differentiation between the corporate
and consumer logo: a silly idea to begin with. While
the applications of the new logo are very clever
considering how Windows 8 is composed of an array
of functional squares, the execution is a bit weak. The
logo looks nondescript and simple rather than unique
and simple.
2.Twitter
If a company has been able to replace its name with a
symbol, that can be considered a huge sign of success
in my view: think Nike, Mercedes, Shell, and Apple.
Where twitter makes this success even sweeter is in the
tightness of it all - not only does the symbol represent the
brand name and the company’s mission statement, but
also the very action that the company’s product enables
you to do. This sort of clarity in the messaging of the logo
comes by once in a generation!

2. Social Technology Quarterly 06
Focus
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5. Shutterstock
The old logo shown here is not exactly the oldest logo in the
history of Shutterstock. In the last ten years the company
has rebranded itself at least four times, starting with a rather
likeable camera with a film strip rolling out of it with the words
Shutterstock on it. As the logo evolved the camera became
more and more abstract and the type became an arbitrary
continuation of letters where ever possible. I am happy to say
that the new identity is a beautiful and refreshing departure
from that line of thinking. The two corners of the frame
that define the “o” can be used in myriad ways across any
materials, highlighting what ever the company wishes to call
attention to. Bold, inventive and cleanly executed!
4. StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon’s new identity represents a healthy evolution from
the dot com era logos of the early 2000s. The new colours are
reduced to just two, both bold and vibrant. A graphic reduction
sees unnecessary gradients and shadows eliminated, giving the
logo a clean minimal feel. The interplay between the mark and
the type is more harmoious. This has a knock down effect to
the website, and that is where massive strides have often been
made: gone is the light blue and white machine language based
functionality that has typified so many sites built in the last ten
years.
Rebrandings of
Tech Companies
by Amit Mirchandani
Photo Credit: Underconstruction.com