Microsoft + Design

Quick, what do you think of when you hear the word Microsoft?

Techie?
Big?
Slow moving?
Bill Gates?
Windows?

Design...?

With the upcoming release of Microsoft’s new OS, called Vista (shown above)—Microsoft takes a page out of the Apple, Nike, Target, and even Motorola play book and gets serious about the role of design in the Microsoft brand experience.  Will the new OS, transform the way Microsoft is perceived similar to what Motorola experienced with the break through RAZR?  Only time will tell.

But, something seems to be in the water at Microsoft.  Last week I had lunch with Chris Bernard, a “User Experience Evangelist” with Microsoft.  An alumni of Chicago’s own Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chris is working hard at weaving design principals and the role it plays in the entire customer experience into the fabric of Microsoft's culture.  It’s a huge company and he will no doubt have his work cut out for him as traditionally, this hasn’t been at the core of Microsoft's strengths.  To be fair, Microsoft did tap the power of design heavily with the release of the Xbox.  Not only was the game interface totally overhauled, but the unit itself was transformed from a “black box” to a thing of beauty (and power) with the shift to a sleek, organic, white unit which can be stood up or placed on it’s side.

So what is Microsoft hoping to achieve through holistic design principals?  Think about what the PC experience used to be years ago.  Maybe it looked something like this:

Microsoft wants it to look more like this:

How does Microsoft intend to get here?  They are incorporating a design philosophy they call AERO.  It goes something like this:

“Ease of use is important but we want to also really improve Efficiency for people using Windows a lot, and make them more productive.  We want the product to deliver more than just doing what it is supposed to enable you to do: we want to evoke a positive emotional connection (when people feel better about what they are doing they in general are more productive, make less mistakes, take more pride in their accomplishments etc. which is all goodness, also for business)".

Will the AERO design philosophy work?  There are some bits of evidence.  As Chris and I chatted, he demonstrated some software design applications Microsoft is rolling out.   But as he demonstrated these, I was also paying close attention the the Vista OS that was running on his laptop.  Sure, it resembled Apple in some ways—but I couldn’t help but wonder how a PC user would react to the changes.  Here’s a couple of highlights:

Translucent "glass" design present in menus and windows



Updated icon language and styling

From what I could  tell in my brief encounter with Vista, it looked pretty sweet—definitely a big move for Microsoft, but I have to get my hands on it for the true test.   So, will design for the entire customer experience help move Microsoft forward?  We’ll have to see.  An improved operating system that is “useful, usable, desirable, and feasible” to use Microsoft’s own words is good start.  But it’s a start.  In my meeting with Chris, I shared with him that the core reason I opted not to purchase the Motorola Q after playing with it.  Though I loved the small, stylish smart phone itself—I had difficulty getting past some interface issues related to that particular version of Windows Mobile. 

In the end, it just didn’t “feel” right.  I think Microsoft is on to something here with their newfound focus on the user experience across all touch points.   People make decisions on what “feels” right and design in the context of providing a good experience has a lot to do with that.  That said, does Microsoft have what it takes to make their users "feel great"?



Note: visuals in this post are pulled from Microsoft and referenced with permission.

Comments

[Cam Beck]

Microsoft could sure use a win. People tend to be less forgiving of Microsoft than they are of other companies. The delays of Vista, supposedly to make it more secure, hopefully have worked, and we won't find a "security leak" within a day of Vista's launch, which would be horrible PR for the company.

I've said it before, though. It really appears as if their making an effort to become a more nimble company capable of utilizing its vast resources. It will be interesting to see how this all works out.

[David Malouf]

David,
The other big piece here is that MS realizes that the OS is but one fabric of the experience. They are giving away to their partners reference material and a host of concept models to "teach" them how to build hardware that is in line with the "Vista Experience".

In so many ways Vista is a copy-cat of Apple, and this last bit is just another way they are trying to "catch up" to that experience, by finally noticing that you have to control the hardware to make the software experience complete. This is why they did Zune and xBox on their own instead of farming out software for vendors like they did with MSN TV (I realize they bought that) and well with Windows.

I think the reverberation of this philosophical change won't really be noticed for another generation of Windows b/c the computer makers are so used to their independence. But we'll see.

-- dave

[Lewis Green]

David,

I believe strongly in emotional connections, but as a PC user whose in-house designers use MACs, it seems we think differently. I am all about speed and usability and much less about functionality. So if new design elements make my life easier, I will be happy. If they make my life only prettier, I won't notice much. Pure speculation, of course. I often surprise myself by taking 180 degree turns in my thinking based on an experience.

[Ed]

I'll give Microsoft credit for acknowledging other companies' designs. But, design has to include funcionality. If it doesn't work, then why create it? When Microsoft released Zune they said it was incompatible with Vista. Does that make sense? How can a company provide two new "important" products that are incompatible, but need to work together? Microsoft said they are working on it. But imagine someone thinking about purchasing a combo holiday gift of a new computer and Zune, to then find out they won't work together immediately. That's bad design.

BTW, I'm curious about the software design applications coming from Microsoft. iLife copy?

[Geof Harries]

Zune was likely pushed to market before it was compatible with Vista for a single reason: Christmas shoppers. November/December are THE months, as we all know.

Since Vista is not publicly available to home consumers yet - and this is Zune's target - then it's a minor stumble in my books.

[Ed]

Geof, my point is that it's bad design. Don't you think that's bad design? Many folks are discussing that Zune is awful with respect to visual design. (I can't say anything since I haven't had a chance to physically see a Zune and interact with it.) But, what happens when you add incompatibility issues with the "bad design" rumors? The home consumers are hearing bad design stories with respect to how it looks and how it works. If they know they will get a computer with Vista eventually, the home consumer will hesitate to include a Zune on their holiday list until they know they're compatible. Bad design doesn't necessarily make a Vista Home Consumer a likely Zune Christmas Shopper.

[Roger von Oech]

Like just about everything else Microsoft has ever done, they'll get it right (in this case the "it" is better design) on their third try.

[Gavin Heaton]

I think Microsoft is taking the right approach. Russell Davies recently quoted Brian Eno -- "technology is what we call things that don't work properly yet".

Good design thinking helps overcome the barriers to use and adoption. It also helps to turn a "device" into something that is an extension of our identities. That is the aim.

[DA]

All good comments.

I think it's important to take into account that Microsoft isn't "there" YET, but they are making the effort (and arguably. progress). And mistakes will be made along the way. Roger makes a good point that they may get it on the "third" try. So the question is... is this the first or second?

Zune seems to have been launched prematurly—we'll have to see where it goes from here.

[Matt]

Of course any one who's read the latest fiascoes on the usability of Vista knows they have a LONG way to go. Two examples that stand out in my mind are the

a) various ways to shut off, sleep, etc. vista (I believe there are 15 from what I read)

b) how many menus / dialogs are now necessary to install a piece of software.

[davidicus]

.

does AERO stand for something?

beautiful things are more usable than ugly things, all else being equal.

.