Forum Discussion
MicrosoftIntroducing new Fluent Iconography for Microsoft Edge
Three-dimensional rendering of some of the new Fluent icons (Image by Cody Sorgenfrey)
Hello Edge Insider community!
We recently released the first of many visual updates we have planned for Edge as we modernize and evolve our design language. First, we’re focusing on our core system iconography which hasn’t been updated since the days of our second Microsoft Design Language (MDL2), circa 2014. This has been a Microsoft-wide design initiative and it was important for Edge to be early adopters of the new, open-source Fluent Design System icons which were announced at the 2020 Build conference. This effort covers more than two hundred icons, many of which have been custom made for Edge.
The new icon system builds off the visual design updates first seen in our refreshed Microsoft app icons, which includes the latest Edge logo. We’re now rolling out the first of 2 phases to update the app iconography. This phase will impact many of our high-touch user interfaces, including tabs, address bar, as well as navigational and wayfinding icons found in our various menus.
Side-by-side comparison of the Edge browser frame with the old and new icons (Image by Cody Sorgenfrey)
There were many reasons we felt this effort was worth our attention, but most notably our motivations were to start modernizing the look & feel of the user interface. The new Fluent iconography system provides functional optimizations for user experience as each icon is based on a standard keyline and grid. This will improve scannability as you browse menus and navigation. We’ve also seen optimized rendering across platforms and devices so no matter which device you’re browsing the web on the icons will appear sharp and easy to read. Lastly, if you’re a Microsoft 365 user you’ll start to see more coherence between Edge and other great products you probably already use, such as Outlook for iOS and Android where these icons are already in use.
Three-dimensional rendering of a blue refresh icon with rounded caps (Image by Cody Sorgenfrey)
The next phase of this work will cover the remaining product surfaces that aren’t being covered in phase one, which are Developer Tools and our Extension experience. Additional to iconography, we know that there are many elements that represent Fluent design. Over the next few months we’ll be actively exploring ways that we can create a more beautiful, expressive, moving, browsing experiences for all our users. Our goal is to make something unique to browsers, while delivering a modern look and feel that matches Microsoft 365 and our brand personality. We hope you’ll love the new iconography as much as we do, and as always please share your thoughts with us so we can continue to improve and evolve.
To send us feedback, head to the ... menu in the top right of your browser > Help and feedback > Send feedback. Or, feel free to leave comments on this post as well.
- Irina Litvin, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Edge
- I like the new icons, they give a fresh look to Edge and it's good to know they are going to be consistent with the rest of MSFT products
IrinaL Will the Reveal effect be done?, that in the winUI3 is presenting that option. and the acrylic option will be made? or you can make it as a theme for those who want to have that design..
- IrinaLThanks for the suggestion! The team is looking at how we can incorporate additional Fluent elements into Edge. Our goal is to make your browsing experience feel modern, expressive, and tailored to you. The elements you've noted are in consideration as we evaluate our options. Your opinion and feedback help us understand this better.
IrinaL The new fluent design icons are smooth, curvy, and amazing. Just looking at them feels satisfying. But, like always, there's a catch. I don't know if this is a bug or not, but I'll upload a screenshot of what I found.
The old new tab logo shows up on the new tab, instead of the new fluent oneIsn't the circled logo still the older one instead of the new one?
I'm running Edge Version 88.0.702.0 (Official build) dev (64-bit).
Is anyone else having this issue?
GriffithJI'm running the same version and I have the same issue.
IrinaL This is great; I really like the new "tab" icon and the refresh icon (even though it's just been rotated a bit) but why is the folder icon in the bookmarks bar going to different from the recently updated folder icon in my Windows 10 Start Menu? They share the same visual style, which I'm very happy to see, but they aren't actually the same, which just seems odd.
- Microsoft's design departments aren't really in the habit of talking to each other. Take the recent 19042 update of Windows 10, which removed the solid blocks of color behind app icons in the Start menu. A welcome update; those were an eyesore. They just forgot that app icons are used other places in the Windows 10 UI than the Start menu, and that those other places need to be updated as well. See, for example, the icons in the Default Apps section of Settings, which still have the ugly highlight color block behind them. |
Sorry, I'm pretty salty about Microsoft's design inconsistency lately. They're trying so hard to refresh things, but they're not bothering to refresh things in consistent ways, so it's not really an improvement.Sadly, this hits home. It's super frustrating seeing Microsoft roll out half-baked (being generous) UI changes, that never are uniformly updated throughout the OS. They really need to hire a UI czar that forces every team to adhere to the same UI and enforce consistency. It's one thing that Apple is remarkable consistent at and it pays off huge dividends. The coherent, cohesive unity of macOS is something that is lacking. Fluent UI is a great UI, but it's just half-baked since it's not uniformly applied. Please, please, please fix this.
- Yes, the folder icon in updated windows 10 start menu is really awesome and if that is the latest from fluent design then team please have that same icon for bookmarks folders also. The updated bookmarks icon is too dull and not modern.
- That's pretty cool, but what about things we've ACTUALLY been asking for, like acrylic and reveal effects?
YgorCortes I don't think acrylic effect is a part of the new Fluent Design System. So, it won't be coming any time soon.
Orion01 wrote:YgorCortes I don't think acrylic effect is a part of the new Fluent Design System. So, it won't be coming any time soon.
it is part of the Fluent Design system:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/fluent-design-system
and with the new WinUI 3, it will be accessible to Windows apps (Win32 + UWP)
Acrylic material is on the road map
https://github.com/microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml/blob/master/docs/roadmap.md
- IrinaL Cool! But I don't like some of it. Can you please use this as a toggle and not a MS-controled feature?
- IrinaLWhat pieces of the update don't work for you? We'd love to know!
IrinaL I already sent feedback but here's a bug: the new tab is not round. I have the latest version: 88.0.702.0.
aliasForKam Why would they make a toggle just for icons -_-
Will the rest of Windows and other non-mobile apps across the Microsoft ecosystem also be getting icon updates? The rest of Windows uses the icon set in the stable builds of Edge, and I'd hate to see Edge be the only Windows app to get an icon change and be even more inconsistent with Windows design than it already is. [EDIT: looking more closely here, it looks like the new icons are going to be the same across all of Microsoft]
Gekkouga Edge doesn't mean corner, or typical edges. It means staying on the bleeding edge of browser technology -_-
Also, having rounded features does not make edge similar to chrome.
The roundness is different in both of them, and will never be the same.
Edge is making is look even better. Also, the fluent design is moving towards sleek, smooth, round icons, and much more.
So it makes sense to see things from a better perspective.- Windows and Fluent Design as a whole is planned to move in that direction, though, so rounded corners make sense.
- It would be nice if you guys are revamp downloading bar to be more legacy and less chrome.
Now downloading bar reducing the page size when it appears but it need to be just a popup message which asks you will you or will you download the file or save it as. and with usual cross X button to cancel, not the cancel button with text CANCEL - Change the People icons back they were better of before you changed them
