Yesterday, when I went to go use the Microsoft Word app on my iPad Pro, I stumbled a bit when I couldn't find the icon for the app in my Dock. After a few seconds, I realized the cause of my confusion: Microsoft has introduced new icons for its apps, the first icon refresh for the Office apps in five years. Jon Friedman, the head of Microsoft Office design, wrote a post on Medium almost five months ago describing the new app icons, but I wasn't aware of that article until I started to do some research yesterday. According to Friedman, Microsoft decided to "decouple the letter and the symbol in the icons, essentially creating two panels (one for the letter and one for the symbol) that we can pair or separate." Here is what the new icons look like for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for iOS (click for larger version):
Friedman says that the new design "allows us to maintain familiarity while still emphasizing simplicity inside the app. Separating these into two panels also adds depth, which sparks opportunities in 3D contexts. Through this flexible system, we keep tradition alive while gently pushing the envelope."
Another change is that the new icons no longer have an outline on them indicating a document. "Whereas prior Office icons had a document outline for Microsoft Word and a spreadsheet outline for Excel, we now show lines of text for Word and individual cells for Excel. By focusing on the content rather than any specific format, these icons embody the collaborative nature of the apps they represent."
The one change that, at least for now, I'm not a big fan of is reducing the size of the letter. I liked seeing a big W for Word, a big X for Excel, etc. Friedman explains the change this way: "Traditionally, the letter occupied two-thirds of the icon, and the symbol took up one-third. We’ve changed this ratio to now emphasize the symbol because while the letter represents the tool itself, the symbol speaks more to people’s creations." I'm not sure that I agree with this, but hopefully I'll get used to it.
The new icons were introduced first in Microsoft's mobile apps. Eventually the changes will come to the desktop apps. For a company like Microsoft that has been so synonymous with the PC for so many years, it is interesting to see the latest-and-greatest on an iPad before it is on a computer.