Microsoft has unveiled a new set of emoji that's going to be available across its Microsoft 365 apps and services, as well as Windows 11. This is a complete overhaul of the company's emoji set, spanning over 1,800 emoji. It's the first time Microsoft has made such a significant change to its emoji in a few years. The last big redesign was in 2016.

In a blog post sharing insight into the design process, Microsoft showed off many of the new emoji. The most fundamental change Microsoft has made is that all the emoji are now 3D designs. You'll get a sense of depth for all of them, which should make them feel more alive. For years, Microsoft has been using flat designs, but the new emoji line up with the new UI elements in Windows 11.

Microsoft says it wants emoji to be playful, because it believes play is important in the workplace. The company talks about how the "play encourages innovation", and says that emoji are an important part of playful communication. As such, its new emoji are designed to be "innately fun", making use of simple shapes to make up all of the designs. This also makes the 1,888 emoji available in Windows 11 and other places look consistent. As you can see in the video above, all the emoji are colorful and lively, but they don't look out of place next to each other.

In addition to revamping all of its existing emoji, Microsoft also created new ones to represent the new realities of hybrid work. In light of the past year and a half, the company wanted to capture some of the emotions people go through while working remotely. There's an emoji where a person is wearing the top half of a suit, but only underwear from the waist down - certainly something many of us will relate to due to virtual meetings.

Microsoft also brings up one particular example of a revamped emoji: Clippy. The old Windows assistant from back in the day is now the representation for the paperclip emoji, bringing a dose of nostalgia for everyone who used Windows in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

These emoji are already available in Flipgrid, and they'll be coming to Microsoft Teams and Windows this holiday season - when Windows 11 arrives. Other services like Yammer and Outlook will get the new emoji in 2022.