Holistic Computing Experience
Design Challenge: Microsoft Corp. asked DesignworksUSA to develop an Industrial Design Toolkit that could be used by their OEM and ODM hardware manufacturing partners worldwide to design personal computers that visually related to Microsoft's Windows Vista software experience. The Toolkit had to be flexible enough for hardware companies to maintain their own brand expressions, while achieving the desired holism with Windows Vista.
Design Solution: To meet this challenge, we assembled a large multi-disciplinary group of our experts in industrial design, engineering, communication design, 3D modeling, color and material design, and design strategy. Working in trans-disciplinary teams is something we love doing and excel in at DesignworksUSA, and developing the Microsoft Toolkit took full advantage of this capability.
Enhancing the computing experience drove us to create a vision for a design language inspired by the Windows Vista that could be applied to various hardware products. This called for an overall sense of harmony and balance enhanced by visual energy. The core principles of the design language allow for a sense of depth and sophistication where planar surfaces are layered with pure geometry and sensual form. In developing these principles, the team explored form development using a Geo-Senso Spectrum that mapped product interaction to surface language and form design. The gestalt was geometric, but touchpoints, such as the concave tops of keyboards, were sensual to emphasize the human aspect of computing. Unique and copyright protected palettes of colors and materials were selected to support interaction with Windows Vista software.
To validate the Toolkit's design language, the team designed a series of everyday objects based on the core principles. The Toolkit box itself, made out of clear acrylic glass and containing material samples, digital fonts and icons, and two hardbound books is an application of the design language as well, and communicates the emotional and tactile aspects of the project.
