Microsoft is tweaking its Windows logo and the icons for many of the operating system’s apps. We’ve known for a year that the software maker has been planning an icon overhaul, and the company’s new Office icons were only the start. Microsoft is now redesigning more than 100 icons across the company with new colors, materials, and finishes.
It’s part of a bigger push to modernize Microsoft’s software and services under the Fluent Design set of principles. “With the newest wave of icon redesigns, we faced two major creative challenges,” explains Jon Friedman, corporate vice president of design and research at Microsoft. “We needed to signal innovation and change while maintaining familiarity for customers. We also had to develop a flexible and open design system to span a range of contexts while still being true to Microsoft.”
Most of the icon changes aren’t major overhauls, but subtle tweaks that make them look far more consistent when you look at tens of them together at once. Microsoft appears to be focusing part of its design efforts on cleaning up its Windows icon problem. Windows 10 has lots of inconsistent icons appearing in settings and apps, with some old icons dating back decades.
Windows 10X appears to be part of the answer to this problem. The software maker revealed a slightly tweaked Windows logo as part of its Windows 10X announcement earlier this year. Windows 10X is designed for dual-screen devices, and it even has a new Start menu and no more Live Tiles.
The existing Windows logo, used in both Windows 8 and Windows 10, is a flat color, while the new logo looks more like a gradient of blue with each quarter representing a different color. Microsoft is also tweaking other areas of Windows 10X, including how you can quickly access the settings panels, the notification center, and more.
Microsoft’s icon work and Fluent Design has been a gradual process, and this will continue throughout 2020. The company’s Edge browser now has a new icon, and even Office itself has a more modern logo. There’s still much to be done, and Microsoft is even trying to tackle mobile design.
Microsoft designers are now working collaboratively internally in what’s described as an “open source” way. Read our full Microsoft design feature from earlier this year to find out how the company has learned from its mistakes to redesign its future.
Comments
How much are you willing to bet that by the time they unveil their next "awesome, amazing, end-all-be-all" design language in a few years there will still be Windows 95 era icons in Windows 10’s interface?
By Phoenix_1 on 12.12.19 1:48pm
Depends on what you mean by the "next" design language, I suppose.
For example, Google launched Material Design in 2014 – so it’s been nearly 6 years of iterating on the same design language. Microsoft could do the same with Fluent design – never really getting to a "next", just iterating on this one.
By vonbaronhans on 12.12.19 1:53pm
This is probably the right answer.
OP has to get in that tasty MS dig, though.
By Nerdburgher on 12.12.19 1:59pm
Yes we all know how committed Microsoft is in design. Which is why we have low-res Windows Classic icons in 2019 after Luna, Aero, Metro/Modern, Modern 2.0 while in Mavericks it was already almost impossible to find an aqua icon.
By Phoenix_1 on 12.12.19 2:10pm
Where are you finding these low res icons?? Windows 10?
By Winklemeier on 12.12.19 2:24pm
Task Manager is one first party application that wasn’t updated after Windows 8 and a couple years of Windows 10. There’s a whole set of admin tools that nonetheless is built into consumer Windows and never touched.
The Control Panel should not take so long to replace, even for BC. Most of the stuff not migrated is first party stuff, and the rest could have been given a special treatment.
But they are getting better. Notepad has finally been updated, for example. The browser story is a little rough, but I think moving to open source Chrome is probably the right choice. They could never start from scratch so a little unevenness is to be expected, I just wish it wasn’t in ControlPanel/settings and first party apps. We’re not talking complete makeovers, you know, just a fresh coat of paint on 32bit icons.
By nico_mach on 12.12.19 2:43pm
Why would they touch admin tools and control panel icons? I don’t see any that are Win 95 era, but I also don’t see a reason to change them when they are still essentially the same tools from the era that the icon represents visually. There’s not much reason for anyone to go digging around there who doesn’t know what they are doing and those who do can go onto any Windows system from Vista/7/8/8.1/10 and quickly find the proper tool to use.
Meanwhile, for any user setting that needs to be used by the average consumer there is the modern Windows 10 settings page.
By EleMenTfiNi on 12.12.19 3:59pm
Agreed. I’d almost argue that changing them too much would be a bad move, considering all the admins that manage systems probably aren’t going to be too fond of the change.
I hardly ever even see that stuff anymore on my machine. It’s hidden far enough that you need to know how to even find it.
By BausFight on 12.12.19 5:43pm
I see it every day when I need to change the settings of my laptop so it stays awake when closing the lid. Power management isn’t what I’d consider an admin tool.
By onwu on 12.12.19 6:13pm
Why are you changing that every day? Besides, most people are going to expect the computer to sleep when closed, changing that is under advanced settings in the normal power options settings, which is the updated modern UI.
By BausFight on 12.13.19 12:25am
Because work has locked the settings so this option resets. I use this in the office to ensure I can hook up to an external monitor with my laptop closed.
Haven’t seen it in the updated modern UI – when I type "closing the lid" in the start menu it takes me to the old style power management settings.
By onwu on 12.13.19 9:58am
They’re more concerned about features, functionality and security, and you’re more concerned about icons. Pity.
By envoy on 12.12.19 4:44pm
If MS weren’t changing their icons again, nobody would be talking about their inconsistency
By Drapery on 12.12.19 7:12pm
Fair enough, but they know where their priorities are. Icons isn’t one of them. Deal with it.
By envoy on 12.13.19 1:52pm
Microsoft is so unconcerned about icons that they’re constantly promoting their new icons.
By 4ndrew on 12.13.19 6:52am
…because The Verge dedicating an article is "Microsoft promoting their icons".
Seriously!? They make these vids to communicate to DESIGNERS about the updated design language, as the biggest software company in the world. Lets not pretend they’re making TV and YouTube ads about this.
By envoy on 12.13.19 1:52pm
I don’t see how what you’re saying is a refutation of my argument that Microsoft cares about icons, in opposition to your previous comment implying that they didn’t care about icons. It doesn’t matter who they’re communicating to, they’re putting a lot of effort into redesigning the icons and communicating about that work.
By 4ndrew on 12.13.19 7:15pm
Material Design has completely abandoned huge elements of its design language. The change to Material Theming is not a big change in name, but where Material Design emphasized colors, physical animations, and a paper based UI with shadows and textures to mirror our world, Material Theming makes everything white (or gray if you’re in dark mode), does not have the same animations, and renounces the paper based design that made Material Design so attractive.
Not exactly an iteration.
By magykmaster on 12.12.19 6:46pm
I’m not really sure what you’re talking about.
Material Theming is simply a brand-themed application of Material Design.
By vonbaronhans on 12.16.19 3:47pm
Some windows are still blurry as hell on my 4K screen. Maybe Windows 20 will finally complete the transition?
A coat of paint over a coat of paint over a coat of paint. Eventually, they’ll hide the legacy crap deep enough.
By Intosh on 12.12.19 4:01pm
That’s a lot of collaboration across their org to probably get this done. Nice to see a unified team handling the icon direction. The same is happening in their fluent system icons which have been gradually being replaced.
Still a lot of other icons that need to be replaced, but looks like it’s slowing becoming a reality. And they look really nice on newer higher density displays.
By templarian on 12.12.19 1:51pm
I can’t be the only one who’s waiting for Microsoft to fully commit to this am I?
Microsoft has been painting a vision of the future that’s beautiful from a visual interface level for years
2011 Productivity Vision
Update in 2015
I just don’t see these making there way to Windows like I feel like they should have. It’s like this is Microsoft’s vision turned up to 11, there’s stuff that’s obviously not possible like magic transparent screens the size of credit cards with no internals. But it seems like Microsoft only turns this vision up to 3 or 4 in practice.
Give me those bold font choices! And other awesome design options. At least turn it up to 7!
By frederick on 12.12.19 1:52pm
I find Microsoft’s design evolution a bit strange. Went from glossy (vista) to super flat (metro) and now back to gradient overkill (fluent). Personally would have been more happy if they would have evolved metro into a bit more friendlier system (better sizing, spacing, color usage, more rounded). This does not really seem like a step forward, just adds more complexity.
By Kilimanjaroo on 12.12.19 1:54pm
As high density displays start to evolve with sharper fuller ranges of colors this icon design will make more sense. Even ignoring their use in VR/AR the icons give a nicer level contrast when viewed on newer displays.
The flat icons in metro had the issue of blending together losing their individuality at quick glance relying too much on the tile’s color (something that makes theming difficult).
By templarian on 12.12.19 2:35pm
Yeah, I mean, does everything have to have a gradient?
By 2003aaa on 12.12.19 4:02pm