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Design & Creative Direction
Microsoft 365 App Icon System Refresh
Branding, Design System, Creative Direction
Credits
Microsoft Design
When people think about Microsoft, they often think about Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These tiny, deceptively simple icons often set expectations long before a user even clicks. Small in size but massive in influence, they have been symbols of productivity across generations.
This redesign was about honoring that power.
We evolved the icon language for the “Core 10” apps (Teams, M365, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Defender) while also creating new launcher icons across our broader Microsoft ecosystem.
As one of the creative directors and project managers, I co-led a multi‑year modernization of Microsoft 365’s product launch icon system—aligning brand strategy, product design, and business priorities. Our goal was to create a unified, vibrant, and dimensional icon system to reflect AI ubiquity across our Microsoft productivity portfolio, signaling a new era for Microsoft Design.
This refresh was a deeply collaborative effort spanning brand, product design, motion, research, and engineering. Designers across Microsoft explored multiple pathways for evolving the icons to be more fluid, colorful, and accessible. We wanted icons that feel alive— expressive enough to communicate innovation, but still grounded, familiar, and accessible. Icons that acknowledge where 365 has been… and confidently point to where it’s going.
We intentionally softened, folded, and curved each icon to create a sense of motion—a design cue that mirrors the fluid, back‑and‑forth collaboration between humans and AI. To shape the brand expression, we developed artwork inspired by the icon motif, expressing connection and rhythm through sculptural forms and tactile materials. These visual expressions became core to the product’s personality, appearing in default themes, content cards, and key user flow screens to create a campaign within the app.
The refresh focused on recognition, wayfinding, and adaptability, ensuring each icon feels authentically Microsoft while pushing into the future. While the initial design direction phase was quick, the iterative and testing process for accessibility, trademarking, and securing SLT approval—spanned nearly two years.
Our refreshed icons embody three core Microsoft creative principles:
Human: Designed to evoke emotion and create a sense of closeness and connection. We prioritized inclusive, familiar metaphors that balance emotionality with clarity.
Vibrant: Leveraging the Microsoft brand color palette, each icon radiates positivity and momentum. Composed elements are dynamic, unique, and memorable.
Dimensional: Icons are rich and layered, with lighting effects and depth that inspire inventive new perspectives. The interplay of metaphor, color, and composition conveys multiple layers of meaning.
Design systems are living organisms—and this icon refresh is a critical piece of the evolving Microsoft 365 visual identity. As the boundary between human intention and AI capability continues to blur, these icons serve as a visual promise:
Microsoft 365 understands you. Microsoft 365 adapts to you. Microsoft 365 meets you where you are.
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