People have some Very Strong Opinions on the Microsoft To Do icons

Icons might be among the smallest of UI design elements, but they have one of the most important jobs – to communicate clearly and quickly. From the battery symbol to the settings cog, several designs are instantly recognisable. And then there's Microsoft To Do's  icons.

Reddit users are torn over the Daily, Weekly and Monthly icons, which are used to schedule repeating events in the to do list app, with responses ranging from 'that's pretty cool', to pure rage. (Looking for icon inspiration? Check out our roundup of the best free icons.)

Microsoft To Do “Repeat” icons from r/DesignPorn

The designs were initially shared to Reddit's r/DesignPorn page, which celebrates quality design. But it's clear that these icons are provoking some pretty strong reactions. As one user comments, "I never saw a calendar icon enrage so many."

There seems to be some logic to the icons ('some' being the operative word). Daily features seven white dots, representing all seven days of the week. And it follows that Weekdays features five white, and two greyed out. But the system seems to change at Weekly. What do the three dots represent? What's the single dot for Monthly? Is Yearly meant to be a flower or a firework?

"I get it, but they only work after being explained. And if the text is always there why bother with icons unless they are universally understood," one user comments, while another adds, "I get it, but it isn't easy to read. Icons should be so simple I can look at them and immediately understand. Decent concept, terrible execution."

But others aren't so down on the designs. "So many negative comments, I do, in fact, find it kinda cool," one user admits. Another laments, "You could post the Taj Mahal here and people will comment words like unnecessary and overcomplicated. I think this is a cute design, it works for what it is doing and is fairly understandable, and makes what is usually a plain dropdown menu a little dynamic." 

So there we have it – who knew a set of tiny icons could cause such discontent? Actually, we did. Who can forget the response to Google changing its Workspace icons?