Microsoft showed new office app icons. They are more colorful and rounder

Software giant Microsoft has officially unveiled a new icon design for its office applications, after some designs leaked earlier this year. According to Jon Friedman, Corporate Vice President of Design and Research for Microsoft 365, this redesign is intended to reflect the current transformation of Microsoft 365 and its increasingly tight integration with the AI-powered Copilot assistant.

Rounded Shapes and More Vibrant Colors

The new icons are characterized by much more pronounced colors. Microsoft has abandoned sharp edges and straight lines in favor of rounded shapes and gentle curves. The result is icons that appear more dynamic and, according to the company’s designers, also more accessible. For example, the Word icon now uses only three horizontal bars instead of four, which improves its readability, especially when displayed in small sizes.

The color palette has also undergone significant changes. Color gradients are now more pronounced and vibrant, with exaggerated transitions between related hues that increase contrast and improve readability. Similar to Google’s logo redesign, which we reported on again this week, Microsoft has also opted for rich and dynamic colors that give the icons a modern look.

Inspired by Copilot, Focused on Connection

It’s no coincidence that the new icons arrive at a time when Microsoft is significantly expanding the capabilities of artificial intelligence in its products. As the company itself stated, the main source of inspiration for the redesign was the Copilot icon. Jon Friedman explains that the new icons are meant to reflect “a strategic shift in Microsoft 365 – unified, intuitive, and designed for seamless flow across all platforms.”

The last redesign of Office icons took place in 2018, and Microsoft then used very similar language to describe its design goals – connection, cohesion, seamless collaboration. At that time, however, these concepts primarily referred to the interface, whereas today they refer more to Copilot’s ability to understand user intent and enable seamless work across the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Preserving Letters and Identity

Although the icons have undergone significant modernization, Microsoft has decided to retain the characteristic letters in the icons of the core applications. “The letters were the subject of much discussion because they represent valuable space, and icons that followed the initial ten Office applications no longer use them,” says Friedman. “However, their value to the brand is so strong that we decided to keep them,” he added.

When We’ll See the New Icons

Microsoft announced that it will begin rolling out the new icons in the coming weeks across web, desktop, and mobile platforms. The redesign will affect both regular users and commercial Microsoft 365 customers.

The new icons are another step in the evolutionary development of Microsoft’s design language and show how the company is gradually re-evaluating its identity in the era of artificial intelligence. The company emphasizes that it is more of an “evolution than a revolution” – the icons retain their recognizability, but at the same time reflect the ongoing transformation of Microsoft 365 into a more connected and intelligent ecosystem.

How do you like the new Microsoft 365 icons?

Sources: Microsoft, The Verge, Neowin