In the age of emojis, GIFs, and sticker packs, it's easy to forget there was a time when expressing creativity in text was much harder. Long before emojis became a universal language, a unique typeface called Wingdings gave people the ability to communicate using icons and symbols—right from their keyboards.
But what exactly is Wingdings? Why was it created, and how did it become a cultural phenomenon? Let’s explore the story behind one of the most iconic and misunderstood fonts in computing history.
Wingdings is a symbolic typeface developed by Microsoft in 1990. Unlike traditional fonts that display letters and numbers, Wingdings replaces each character with a symbol—such as arrows, checkmarks, smiley faces, or hand gestures. It belongs to the dingbat font family, which refers to decorative characters historically used by typesetters and printers.
When typed, Wingdings displays a collection of visual icons instead of readable text. It was never intended to write sentences, but rather to enhance documents with scalable visual elements that didn’t require inserting external images.
Back in the early 1990s, storage space was limited and image processing was slow. People needed a way to insert graphics into documents without relying on heavy image files.
That’s when designers Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes—creators of the popular Lucida font family—introduced a trio of symbolic fonts: Lucida Icons, Lucida Arrows, and Lucida Stars. These fonts were later acquired and merged by Microsoft into what we now know as Wingdings.
💡 Fun Fact: Wingdings was included in early versions of Microsoft Windows, making it instantly accessible to millions of users.
The name "Wingdings" is a creative blend of the term "dingbat" (a printer's term for ornamental symbols) and “Windows,” the operating system it was created for.
Bigelow explained that the name was meant to evoke a sense of energy and quirkiness. It perfectly reflected the idea of a wild and whimsical set of symbols that broke from conventional font design.
The icons in Wingdings are not random. They draw inspiration from multiple sources:
The design of Wingdings was carefully curated to represent both ancient and modern symbols—bridging the gap between the analog world of books and the digital age of computers.
Microsoft saw potential in these symbolic fonts and included Wingdings in early versions of Windows. Despite storage limitations on floppy disks, Wingdings made the cut—indicating how valuable symbolic fonts were at the time.
Its inclusion helped popularize the font and introduced millions to the quirky world of text-based icons. This integration made Wingdings a household name among early computer users.
Following Wingdings’ success, Microsoft introduced more symbolic fonts like Wingdings 2, Wingdings 3, and Webdings. The latter included the input of Vincent Connare, who also designed Comic Sans.
These fonts expanded the visual library available to users and paved the way for the modern use of icons in digital communication—precursors to today’s emojis.
People began typing words in Wingdings and interpreting the resulting symbols—often incorrectly. Want to see what your name or sentence looks like? Use our free Wingdings Translator to try it yourself.
This led to various internet myths and controversies, especially in the early 2000s. Ironically, the font’s misuse helped it gain cultural prominence.
The word "dingbat" originally referred to typographic ornaments used by printers in the pre-digital era. These were reusable symbols or shapes added for decoration in books and posters.
Dingbats were the foundation for modern symbolic fonts like Wingdings. In essence, Wingdings digitized the art of decorative typography—making it accessible to everyone with a keyboard.
Today, emojis serve a similar function as Wingdings once did—they help people express thoughts and emotions visually. But there’s a key difference:
In other words, emojis evolved from the same symbolic roots as Wingdings but are more universally compatible and expressive.
Wingdings sits at the intersection of typography and iconography. While no longer essential, it remains an important symbol of early digital creativity. Designers, typographers, and even puzzle-makers still find value in Wingdings-style fonts.
As Bigelow noted, “The future of fonts like Wingdings, which occupy a space between image and text, is impossible to predict.”
But if history has shown us anything, it’s that simple ideas—like a symbol font in Windows—can leave a lasting impact.
Wingdings may seem outdated in today’s emoji-rich world, but it was revolutionary for its time. It allowed people to communicate with symbols in an era when images were hard to access. From its roots in dingbat printing to its digital rebirth, Wingdings remains a fascinating chapter in font history.