I have a confession to make. I have to try to not be judgmental when I see one of the old Power BI icons on new content that’s being published. The thing is, the old icons still pop up a LOT on blog posts, social media images, and even advertisements for paid training offerings. Just yesterday I spoted a Microsoft page with an old icon once in a while.

According to this site, here’s the timing for each icon:

On one hand, it's just aesthetics. I get that. But...I question why you are using an outdated icon. Is it because you don't care? Or because you don't know which is which?

As a consumer of content online, I should judge content by its merits alone - however, if it’s accompanied by an old icon then my brain has an extra hurdle to cross to trust that what I’m reading / watching is accurate and reliable. (Hey I started off this post saying I have a confession! I assure you I’m not the only one that feels this way though. I’ve had this conversation with several people.)

So, as we head into 2023, I’m hoping to see fewer uses of the old icons.

What about the new teal color?

A couple people have asked about the new teal color. The announcement is brief, but it states that:

The brand color and icon will remain yellow.
The teal is an accent color.

The change to using teal for chrome, accents, etc. throughout the application is largely about accessibility. The teal is darker, so the contrast ratio makes it much more readable (ex: white text on the darker teal as well as teal text on a white background). Easier readability is appreciated by all of us (even if we aren’t always aware of it, and even if we don’t technically have a vision impairment). The change also helps Power BI be more compliant with web content accessibility guidelines.