It’s been a long journey. Microsoft is on a quest to modernize the UI of its operating systems and applications, and the company is finally getting there.
Many of the nooks and corners in Windows 11 now sport this refreshing new look, and the same holds true for several programs. Office was one major holdout, but it seems that the software titan is finally ready to give its suite of productivity applications this new coat of paint, too.
The company has started the rollout of this eye candy Mica effect in Microsoft Office, though the whole thing is happening in stages.
In case you are unaware of Mica, this is how Microsoft describes this visual effect:
“Mica is an opaque, dynamic material that incorporates theme and desktop wallpaper to paint the background of long-lived windows such as apps and settings. You can apply Mica to your application backdrop to delight users and create visual hierarchy, aiding productivity, by increasing clarity about which window is in focus. Mica is specifically designed for app performance as it only samples the desktop wallpaper once to create its visualization.”
Mica has slowly become one of the most eye-catching features of Windows 11. Microsoft has not only updated the OS with this design but also encouraged developers to update their apps with support for this visual feature.
And to take things up another level, the company is bringing this effect to Office.
According to this new intelligence, Redmond quietly updated Office applications with Mica not too long ago. At this point, only Microsoft Word has this new design feature, but apps like Excel and PowerPoint should not be far behind.
This is how Word looks with the Mica effect turned on:
The broad availability of this effect in Office is not yet available. The chances are that Microsoft is slowly shipping this update for users rocking both Windows 11 and Office 2021. But now that things have kicked off, it should not be long before other users get in on the action.
