Microsoft has revamped its search engine Bing, and has outlined a new insight-based philosophy in an official blog post. The revamp coincides with Bing's integration with greater range of products.
Bing enables the voice search feature of the Xbox, facilitates the embedding of images and detailed maps in Office documents, and fuels the translation tool on the Windows Phone.
And according to the blog post from Scott Erickson, senior director, Brand and Creative: "With this reinvention of the idea of search, we knew we needed to signal a change to the world. We’re building on our heritage of great search results and we’re forging a new path ahead."
New Bing features include 'Pole Position', a box that appears at the top of the screen providing a quick answer if the user types a question. 'Page zero' is another addition, designed to refine Bing searches before the results are shown to users. Bing's new feature for social media is also being incorporated with results showing relevant images from social networks to searched-for terms.
The search engine has also recreated its visual identity, in line with the feeling of product offerings as well as Microsoft's new look.
"We knew our products were evolving beyond just the traditional search page," writes Erickson. "We were building apps for Windows 8, we were integrating search into Windows Phone and Xbox. This was much more than just a new logo or a single brainstorm. We re-architected our brand vision in alignment with our product roadmap."
The new Bing logo was created to be 'simple, real and direct', maintaining the previous lower case letter 'b'; and Segoe, Bing’s corporate font. "It is designed to 'instantly feel at home alongside all Microsoft products', reflecting the growing presence of Bing across Microsoft's various devices and services," said Erickson
The revamp also sees an upgrade to the main search page, with an improved user interface optimised for touch devices, as well as increased speed and easier multi-screen use.
Bing will continue to provide a new homepage image on a daily basis, with Erickson saying: "Our tradition of showcasing inspiring and interesting photography will continue and full-color, full-bleed imagery will remain a mainstay of our visual personality."
Microsoft's main color palette has been fully embraced in Bing's new identity, with Erickson confirming that Bing will primarily focus on the orange, yellow and warmest colors of the palette.
Erickson also elaborate on Bing's new graphics, saying that in addition to color, photography and typography, Bing has developed an extensive set of graphic and motion graphic elements that will be used in its communications.
Microsoft has also updated Snapshot, a feature announced a year ago which showed what 'Bing knows' about a person, place or thing.
"The improvements we are releasing in this latest release of Bing are the beginning of a new, more modern era for Bing," said Lawrence Ripsher, General Manager of User Experiences. "We believe this reinvention will give people faster access to information, more efficient ways to get things done and a unique and human perspective on search, all delivered through a beautiful experience," he said.