Microsoft is pulling back the curtain on its design process, revealing the rejected icon concepts that almost made it into the final Office suite refresh. The company experimented with radically different approaches for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint before settling on the curvier, more colorful designs now rolling out across Windows and iOS.
Microsoft is giving us a rare glimpse behind the design curtain. As the company rolls out its latest Office icon refresh across Windows and iOS, it's sharing the concepts that didn't make the cut - and some of them are surprisingly bold.
The rejected designs tell a story of creative experimentation that went far beyond the safe, incremental updates we typically see from major software companies. Instead of playing it safe, Microsoft's design team explored concepts that would have fundamentally changed how millions of users recognize their favorite productivity apps.
For Word, the experiments were particularly adventurous. The concepts shared on Microsoft's Instagram show notepad-inspired designs and various ways to visualize stacks of paper or documents. Some versions made the "W" lettering the star of the show, while others experimented with blending the letter into the background or removing it entirely. The final design Microsoft settled on features three horizontal bars instead of four, available in both lettered and letterless versions.
What's fascinating is how some of these concepts harken back to Office for Mac icons from the past, suggesting Microsoft considered a nostalgic approach before deciding on its current direction.
Excel's rejected concepts stayed more true to form, heavily focusing on cell visualizations that have defined the app's identity for decades. But there were standout experiments, including an intriguing X-focused design that caught attention for its simplicity and boldness. Most of the other concepts ended up looking similar to the final shipped version, suggesting Microsoft had a clearer vision for Excel from the start.
PowerPoint's design journey was perhaps the most adventurous. The app has always been about slides, but Microsoft experimented with creative interpretations of that concept. Some designs transformed the P into a ribbon-like element, while others incorporated pie charts directly into the letter P - a clever nod to the presentation charts that define so many PowerPoint decks. The final design took a more conservative approach, offering a rounded and colorful evolution of the current PowerPoint icon rather than a revolutionary redesign.
