Microsoft's Office 2011 beta 3 for Mac gets new icons

Microsoft has issued a third release of its private beta program for Office 2011 for Mac, which is expected to reach production by the end of the year.

The new release overhauls the suite's icons, which haven't significantly changed since Office v.X appeared in late 2001 with bubbly translucent icons intended to reflect the Aqua appearance of Mac OS X.

The new 2011 icons are toned down and more serious looking (below). Also refined are the splash screens for each app.

The new suite works to bring more visual harmony between the Mac and Windows versions; Microsoft just released Office 2010, the Windows equivalent of the upcoming 2011 Mac version.

Additional coverage of the latest Office 2011 and the suite's historical development:

Road to Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac: A New Hope

Road to Office 2011: New looks, support for Exchange, VBA

Road to Mac Office 2008: an introduction

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42 Comments

applestud

said about 13 years ago

lipstick on a pig

davebarnes

said about 13 years ago

I think the Windows and Mac versions of Office should have the same icons.
It helps with Microsoft's branding and these very different icons do not.

dontlookleft

said about 13 years ago

I really don't care about the look of the icons...I just hope that when I click those icons I don't have to wait 14 minutes for their respective apps to open.

prof. peabody

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleStud

lipstick on a pig

Yeah if they spent as much time on the product design as they do on the icons and the splash screen each time, they might have something worth buying someday.

prof. peabody

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

... The new 2011 icons are toned down and more serious looking (below). Also refined are the splash screens for each app. ...

It's kind of hilarious how they still do that thing Microsoft does where they include extra "products" that simply duplicate the capabilities of others, or are split off from last years "products."

There are only really four products in Office and there always has been. This time they have six icons, but three of them are about communicating via email or text or whatever. Outlook and Messenger and "communicator" are really all the same thing (or should be).

It kind of reminds me how they shift the function and grouping of the control panel icons in every Windows release so no one can find them and so that they appear to be all new etc.

Anyone tried "Microsoft Communicator" yet? I tried looking it up but Microsoft's own web page on the product produces an error and won't display.