Icons of the Future

Fast forward to the era of Windows 10 and the concept of the personal computer (the PC, fondly) means something entirely different than it did three decades ago. It’s estimated that there are four connected devices per person, with that number rising steadily. As designers, this signals to us that modern life is complicated. And as designers for Windows, this signals a need for simplicity at the systems level.

In terms of a system, we can look to the Windows icons as a means of wayfinding. Systems are inherently complex and icons provide simple points of reference. We may not even realize how much we rely on these subtle cues to navigate the OS — our brains are amazing machines that synthesize this information in the background. We rely on that cognitive machinery when we design, helping the mind multitask, organize, and communicate.

This design choreography becomes more critical as technology advances. That’s why we’ve embarked on a multi-year effort across Microsoft’s design teams to redesign our icons: a system within a system. Flat, monochrome icons look great in context of colorful tiles, but as more icon styles enter the ecosystem, this approach needs to evolve. When icons in the taskbar and Start menu are different styles, it creates more cognitive load to scan and find applications. We needed to incorporate more visual cues into the icon design language using our modernized Fluent Design Language.