In 2017 Microsoft revealed its Fluent Design system, which was an aesthetic and UI that the company had been working on for some time in order to take the look and feel of the firm’s Windows software in a more modern direction.
We had not heard much about a redesign of Microsoft’s Windows software since then, but that changed this morning as the company’s head of Microsoft Office Design, Jon Friedman, took to Medium to detail a host of aesthetic changes.
More specifically Friedman showcased a new Windows logo, along with 100-plus changes to icons in the company’s software suite.
“Across Microsoft, we’ve worked to help facilitate and enhance these kinds of interactions and experiences. Scaling an icon design effort from 10 products to over a hundred to reflect this new world of work was both daunting and thrilling,” Friedman explains about the process.
“From enterprise to small business to consumer, product teams ensured each icon authentically represented both the product truth and the larger Microsoft brand,” he adds.
As you can see from the header image above the aesthetic that Microsoft has gone for places an emphasis on colour to differentiate where each application or solution may reside within the software suite, as well as use softer edges and gradients for an overall softer palette.
The next step in the phase is when all of these changes will be experienced by the end user, but on that front neither Friedman nor Microsoft has provided any information. If we were to hazard a guess though, it may be rolled out to coincide with the launch of Windows 10X, which the company revealed a couple of months ago.
For now it’s time to dissect the design change and gauge whether consumers and enterprises will welcome the new look and feel.