The Microsoft branding team unveiled an official new logo for SQL Server 2008 at TechEd 2008. The new symbol portion of the logo (officially called "dynamic grid symbol") is part of a larger branding strategy designed to help customers and partners distinguish server products in Microsoft’s overall product portfolio. Other goals for this new branding include the following:

•     Strengthen our connection with customers and partners

•     Visually support key attributes such as “integration”, “innovation”, and “enterprise class”, which are important attributes for our customers and partners

•     Provide customers and partners with an important visual distinction from Microsoft desktop software

•     New category colors (“color coding”) were designed to make it easier for customers and partners to navigate our breadth offering and understand our solution-oriented categories

For those interested in the finer details of this branding strategy, the new dynamic grid symbol is shared between four product categories within Microsoft's Server and Tools division and is distinguished between each category using the following color assignments:

IT Management - Microsoft blue

Security - Microsoft green

Application Infrastructure - Microsoft deep red (new color)

Business Productivity Infrastructure - Microsoft deep yellow

The SQL Server family of products and technologies falls under Application Infrastructure.