The original OS/2 Software Development Kit (SDK) was issued by Microsoft in the fall of 1987 for $3,000. This logo was present in prerelease advertising, documentation, and box art in the lead up to the official releases of OS/2 by Microsoft and IBM.
OS/2 1.x[]
1987–1992[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Glaser Stencil Thin
Launched:
December 1987
OS/2 1.0 was the first version of OS/2 released in December 1987. A user interface was introduced in version version 1.1. OS/2's branding always utilized a square tilted at 37 degrees into a rhomboid shape. Versions from 1.0 to 1.3 published by IBM included a logo featuring neon lettering.
1989–1990[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Custom (logo) Baskerville / Times New Roman (wordmark)
Launched:
1989
This alternate logo would be used on editions published by Microsoft until its breakup with IBM in 1990.
Announced at Las Vegas on October 21, IBM released OS/2 version 2.0 in April 1992. The first 32-bit version of the system, it introduced a new object-oriented user interface known as Workplace Shell. The rhombus now displays five differently colored circles with "OS/2" typed diagonally inside.
OS/2 3.0 is the first version to bear the "OS/2 Warp" moniker, released in October 1994. It featured new performance benefits, including broader hardware support, multimedia capabilities, and Internet networking. Two separate editions were made for OS/2 Warp 3, referred as "Blue Spine" and "Red Spine".
The logo was otherwise kept the same with the addition of a new wordmark.
OS/2 Warp Connect/Warp 4[]
1995–2006[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Bodoni Book Helvetica Black (modified)
Launched:
May 1995
With the release of OS/2 Warp Connect in May 1995, a new logo was introduced comprising the wordmark in a wavy holding shape. Rhomboidal imagery would continue to appear on box arts.
OS/2 Warp 4 would follow later in 1996. New features in this release were a tighter integration with Java technology, speech recognition, WarpGuide, and Assistance Center.
The last version released was OS/2 Warp Server for e-Business 4.52 in December 17, 2001.
Extended support for the operating system ended on December 31, 2006. OS/2's architecture would be continually supported by third-party development under IBM's license to Serenity Systems as eComStation, and later in 2017 to Arca Noae, LLC as ArcaOS.
References[]
↑ 1.01.1"OS/2 logo". Bryan Thatcher. March 5, 2022. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023.
Notes: 1 Became independent from 2007–2022, later becoming a Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiary in 2022 2 Were moved to work on other Microsoft Software departments 3 consolidated 4 Sold to Take-Two Interactive, later being defunct
Notes: 1 Became independent from 2007–2022, later becoming a Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiary in 2022 2 Were moved to work on other Microsoft Software departments 3 consolidated 4 Sold to Take-Two Interactive, later being defunct
Notes: 1Nokia phone brand licensing was sold to Human Mobile Devices in 2016. The original Nokia company continues to exist. 2Developer Kit hardware was discontinued in 2023. Azure Kinect technologies continued to be licensed to its partners.
