Nov 17 2020 10:42 AM - edited Nov 17 2020 12:32 PM
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.
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.
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
Nov 18 2020 09:38 AM
@IrinaL Thanks, I really enjoy the fluent update. Can you please add scrollbars that autodetect the page background color and change to dark or light mode accordingly? I also wish, the mobile version was sync'ed in terms of its usability with the desktop version.
Nov 18 2020 10:52 AM
Nov 18 2020 10:54 AM
Nov 18 2020 10:56 AM
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.
Nov 18 2020 04:35 PM
@I Don't have a clue WHY you would even bother with such subtle changes that aren't even pertinent. Secondly, I have just gotten the 88.0.702.0 (64bit) update and I don't even see the slight changes you promised. so if there is a different version out there that has this, why don't you tell them and quit bothering me with junk that doesn't apply to my version?
Nov 18 2020 06:11 PM
Nov 19 2020 12:10 AM
Icons look slightly blurry to me too, especially the new tab + icon. Also the + icon sometimes keeps its position for a while after you close tabs, as shown in this screenshot.
Nov 19 2020 01:06 AM
@IrinaL I really don't like the new icons ... Why does everything has to be so round ? A feature to keep the old ones would be most welcome.
Nov 19 2020 05:46 AM
Nov 19 2020 05:58 AM
Nov 19 2020 08:40 AM
Nov 19 2020 08:45 AM
Nov 19 2020 08:53 AM
Nov 19 2020 08:54 AM
@nlphite wrote:
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.
Hi,
i agree with you, I've made a feedback about this in feedback hub, upvote and share it if you want
Nov 19 2020 08:57 AM
Nov 19 2020 09:01 AM
Nov 19 2020 09:08 AM
Nov 19 2020 09:19 AM
Nov 19 2020 12:33 PM
Nov 19 2020 12:34 PM