Microsoft has recently rolled out redesigned Office icons. While the recent changes to the Microsoft Office icons are fully cosmetic, the changes are designed to reflect the specific roles the each application serves.

For example, Microsoft Excel’s icon will show as a rectangular icon to represent spreadsheets, and Microsoft Outlook’s icon contains an envelope to represent mail.

Microsoft’s design lead, John Friedman, recently stated that the format changes mimic the ‘collaborative nature’ of Office 365. The recent changes to the Microsoft Office icons contain no functional changes, but signify a commitment to Microsoft’s increased focus on the utilization of applications in the cloud.

Source: Microsoft Design (Medium)