Yahoo going to change logo

Under CEO Marissa Mayer, Yahoo might still be trying to shed its image as a relic of the 1990s Internet era.

But hey, it's getting a new logo!

Yahoo announced Wednesday that it will unveil a new corporate logo September 4 -- the first such change since the company was founded 18 years ago. The new look will retain the current purple color scheme and, yes, its trademark exclamation point. Yodel away, Yahoo fans.

"Over the past year, there's been a renewed sense of purpose and progress at Yahoo!, and we want everything we do to reflect this spirit of innovation," Chief Marketing Officer Kathy Savitt wrote in a blog post. "While the company is rapidly evolving, our logo — the essence of our brand — should too."

To build some buzz around the new logo, the Internet company will display a different variation of the logo on its homepage and throughout its network in the United States for each of the next 30 days. The first example, shown above, opts for a more streamlined look, although the second "O" is larger than the first, reflecting -- in Yahoo's words -- the company's " fun, vibrant, and welcoming" character.

The variations on the new logo -- this video clip offers a potential preview -- also will be showcased each day on Yahoo's Twitter account (#dailylogo).

Mayer has been working to reinvent the struggling Yahoo since she took over leadership of the company in July of last year. In the past 12 months Yahoo has bought more than 16 startups, including the popular Tumblr blogging platform, and reinvigorated its older brands such as photo site Flickr.

Under her reign, Yahoo's stock price has climbed from $15 to almost $30 (it's currently at $27), although some analysts remain skeptical about the company's long-term fortunes.

Yahoo's rebranding follows similar logo changes by other aging Internet giants, including AOL, eBay and Microsoft.

"The new logo will be a modern redesign that's more reflective of our reimagined design and new experiences," Savitt said.


/CNN/