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Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
After 20 years of design experience, you’d figure Bill Gates and his pals in Redmond would be able to create intuitive icons for their products. But the Microsoft Office 2007 icons are confusing (even for those of us who use Windows on a regular basis)! Test your Icon IQ with our Office quiz located here. And be sure to report your results in the comments below. Good luck!
Comments (48)
Comment
In The Magazine
I got 75% (9 out of 12). Mistaken Front Page with Project, Info Path with Frontpage, and Project with Info Path.
In retrospect, it’s kind of evident, but at first sight they just looked so generic.
posted by Big Horse on 9-15-2007 at 12:43 am
Score: 67% (8 out of 12)
posted by dakine on 9-15-2007 at 12:45 am
7 of 12
Not bad. Some of them I recognize because I see them everyday at work, but for most I just guessed, logically of course.
posted by Marina on 9-15-2007 at 1:19 am
67% (8 of 12)… but that included a lot of random guesses that hit the mark. I haven’t been forced into using Windows for a little over a year now (and had Office XP), so only Word and Excel were definitely distinguishable.
posted by Matt on 9-15-2007 at 2:23 am
I thought FrontPage got the axe this time around - and it was split off into Expression Web and Sharepoint Designer or some such… trick question!
Still, I got them all right - I just filled in the last blank with the last remaining choice - 100%
posted by Goyuix on 9-15-2007 at 7:18 am
42% correct. :(
Mac user and apparently not an iconic thinker.
posted by Mary on 9-15-2007 at 8:57 am
My coworkers and I have determined that the only purpose of Office 2007 was to give some guy a chance to show off his ability to make icon-based menus.
posted by Mel on 9-15-2007 at 9:04 am
100% - No, really. About half were intuitive, a couple just resembled their older versions (Outlook, the Access Key) and the last three I just guessed because I don’t even know what Info Path, One Note, and Groove are. I also spent about 5 minutes staring at it.
posted by Don on 9-15-2007 at 11:25 am
42%. I suppose I would have done better had my know-it-not-at-all husband not been standing over my shoulder.
posted by Rachel on 9-15-2007 at 1:57 pm
75%. I agree with Don, several of them were just reworked versions (they even kept them the same colors, which helped too). The rest were intuitive.
posted by Meagan on 9-15-2007 at 4:09 pm
Eight of 10. Not too bad considering I had no clue about Groove and had to guess on some of the recently re-worked icons.
The name of the game in brand recognition is, well, recognition. Studies show that even children as young as three can recognize Ron McD and the “Golden Arches.” One would think that MS would want at least that level of brand recognition (given that their products cost a hell of a lot more than a Filet-o-fish).
Peut etre the fine lads and lassies in Redmond need to brush up on their marketing and branding skills…or hire three year olds.
posted by Lalita on 9-15-2007 at 5:08 pm
58% (7 out of 12)
As a Mac user who hasn’t even seen Office 2007, this seems fairly good. I knew about 4-5 of them for sure, but the rest were complete guesswork. Sometimes I think design can simply get in the way of functionality.
Ah well; I’m not chomping at the bit to use Office anytime soon.
posted by Julia on 9-15-2007 at 7:51 pm
10/12
Missed Front Page and Groove, two programs I’ve never used.
posted by garyzim on 9-15-2007 at 8:58 pm
7 out of 12
I agree with Julie. I can’t feel too bad about being a mac user! I love my mac. Not that our icons are that much better.
posted by Amanda on 9-15-2007 at 9:17 pm
5 out of 12 correct and 2 were lucky guesses.
I am intelligent, intuitive, an artist and visual person.
These items are nonsense. They are obscure iconography at best. They dont speak to function or clarity or ease in use.
posted by merrill on 9-15-2007 at 9:32 pm
i scored 58%, right on par with the average, apparently…
posted by kelli on 9-16-2007 at 6:13 am
Ok, I got Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher and Outlook.
Is it odd that I’m a Windows user and I’ve never even heard of the other programs? The names and the pictures don’t tell you a whole lot about what they do.
posted by Kaitie on 9-16-2007 at 8:50 am
I appreciate the comments, everyone, and hope that someone in Redmond is reading. I’ve spent thousands on Microsoft products since the early days of MS-DOS (including one of my favorite pieces of sofware ever, Bookshelf ‘98, which is sadly becoming too dated now).
It’d be nice to think that this round-about way of hearing what customers really think might make a difference.
It won’t, I know, but it’s nice to THINK that it might. Gimme a break. It’s how I manage to sleep at night.
posted by Sandy on 9-16-2007 at 9:23 am
I can’t make heads or tails out of any of these. I think I’ll stick with Mac.
posted by Miss Cellania on 9-16-2007 at 9:52 am
My geekiness leaves alot to be desired, I didnt regicnize enough of them to take the quiz. Give me a big fat “0″.
posted by gus on 9-16-2007 at 10:04 am
I actually got 100%, but then again I work with this stuff every day and have had a lot of “practice”…..
posted by BIG KAHUNA on 9-16-2007 at 10:04 am
8 out of 12 here- not too bad for a dork.
posted by carlton on 9-16-2007 at 10:14 am
11 out of 12. Not sure how I feel about that…
posted by Norma on 9-16-2007 at 12:21 pm
8 out of 12! I’m kind of surprised because I use Macs a lot.
In any case, the amount of brain power required to guess some of them was horrible. I should be able to know in a second.
posted by Catherine on 9-16-2007 at 4:02 pm
That is the great thing about using icons over keyboard commands: they are so much more intuitive. Who makes these things up?
posted by Jon on 9-17-2007 at 12:16 am
6/12 or chance. Windows user, but mostly limited to the ones I got right -word, excel, powerpoint…
posted by fixedgear on 9-17-2007 at 5:33 am
7/12… and I actually actually use some of this stuff (not in this version, though). It occurred to me while I was pondering some of these that even the ones I did recognize (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc.) aren’t even that intuitive. Why a key for Access? (That’s strictly from an icon design perspective; please don’t respond with any sort of ‘primary key’ logical db design diatribe; *I* know why it’s a key, but why expect casual users to do so?). The Word icon’s W is only fortuitous because none of the other apps start with W…
posted by Roger on 9-17-2007 at 7:04 am
Clearly, one too many ‘actually’-s in the above. Sorry. In the meantime, anybody have suggestions for MS in case someone in Redmond is killing time right now? I think a typewriter or pen-and-ink icon for Word, for instance…
posted by Roger on 9-17-2007 at 7:06 am
58% my ass. I’m forwarding this to the other Mensa brats.
posted by Ash on 9-17-2007 at 12:14 pm
Not too bad. The ones I got wrong are programs I don’t work with a whole lot. Front Page, Groove, and Publisher.
posted by amanda on 9-17-2007 at 12:22 pm
I’d love to hear what they say, Ash — I’m a Mensan myself. And I’m tickled with all the comments from people who agree that these icons aren’t nearly as “iconic” as they should be (particularly these, since they’re the larger, more detailed versions).
And believe me, while I’ve been using Office since the Win95 days, my score would have been similar to yours had I taken this quiz out of the blue!
posted by Sandy on 9-17-2007 at 12:22 pm
Rodents! I meant 10 of 12.
(Chagrin)
posted by Lalita on 9-17-2007 at 8:58 pm
Well, 10 out of 12 isn’t too bad, especially since the laptop here at work is stuck on Win2000.
posted by Diane on 9-18-2007 at 1:51 pm
75% I missed the ones that I never use (or have never heard of- there were about 4 or 5 that I didn’t know existed…). I got 1 or 2 of the obscure ones right, just sheer guess work, and the other ones b/c they use the same colors. (Publisher is a really good program by the way, I wish they would include it in the regular Windows package- I mean what does Access do anyway??)
posted by greenstrawberries on 9-23-2007 at 10:07 am
I was a tester at Microsoft in Office at the start of the Office 2007 product cycle (and earlier). They put the final icon art in after I had left the company to work on other things. I used to install and test these products daily. I was only able to get 67%.
Frontpage used to be a very recognizable icon… what the hell does the icon mean now?
posted by Ryan on 9-23-2007 at 11:00 pm
Score: 83% (10 out of 12)
posted by dina on 9-27-2007 at 9:17 am
83% (10 of 12) but I NEVER use Microsoft Office. Some lucky, albeit careful, guesses.
posted by shackmusicman on 7-9-2008 at 10:59 am
3 of 12 In my defense, much like Mary, I have been a Mac user for about 8 years and since I have my own office, I don’t even use a PC at work. And I tend to agree with Merrill; I’m generally a visual person but some of these icons have little to do with the program they represent.
posted by Diane on 7-9-2008 at 11:39 am
9 of 12, Seventy-Five Percent.
posted by Mark on 7-9-2008 at 12:12 pm
50%
Whatever.
OpenOffice FTW!
posted by Ed on 7-9-2008 at 12:13 pm
Another Mac user with 58%. I can deal with that.
posted by geese on 7-9-2008 at 12:38 pm
Half is pretty good I think for not actaully using the programs often or at all.
posted by may on 7-9-2008 at 3:45 pm
Yeah
posted by Ian on 7-9-2008 at 10:53 pm
oh yeah, I spend way too much time on my computer…9/12 correct (75%), and I only have excel, outlook and word on my computer! (I think) some of them are quite intuitive really, groove makes sense, as does notebook and publisher…(at least I think so!)
posted by Sandie on 7-9-2008 at 11:11 pm
Hum, I got roughly half. I’m a mac user so I don’t feel too horrible about my results. It’s funny though that some of the above suggestions are actually what mac uses for their program. The word equivalent uses a pen and ink for the icon. The powerpoint equivalent is a podium icon.
Of course I’m a bit biased as a mac girl but… When my mom, at age 60, needed to use a computer for the first time, after deciding to take an online course, I had to teach her on my old iMac. (It was that beautiful green color from ‘99.) Then I bought her a windows-based laptop for Christmas so I would no longer have to manipulate her files to her class’ requirements. She has said many times the only reason she could figure out her new computer was because the mac was so user friendly and intuitive. Even then, I had to actually sit down and give her more computer lessons with the windows. Anyway, when everyone (that I know) from a 60 year old computer virgin to computer engineers and developers (with me in the middle) find macs more user friendly than ms… That’s a sad state for MicroSoft to be in.
posted by Joy on 7-10-2008 at 1:16 pm
I only missed two - switched Visio and Project. Hard job designing these icons but overall just looking at them made it reasonably easy.
posted by Mason on 7-10-2008 at 5:14 pm
I got a perfect score, which saddens me somehow. Time to spend more time outside.
posted by Gabriel on 7-11-2008 at 10:15 am
80%…yeah! My summer is made. Guess it doesn’t take much.
posted by Vicki on 7-11-2008 at 12:47 pm