Challenge
When Microsoft wanted an outside perspective for the design of its next-generation operating system, Windows XP, the company turned to frog design. frog was issued a sweeping mandate: to generate key elements of the user interface, including the media player UI and taskbars, combining ultra-contemporary allusions with an elemental, expressive, and visually sensitive whole. The project even came to encompass a revision of Windows’ most recognizable component – its classic logo.
Deliver
With the product design in place, we turned our attention to the Windows logo. Its classic four-color arrangement of red, green, yellow, and blue tiles on a pixelated pennant was seen to represent both windows opening onto the world and flags of exploration and discovery. The Windows mark needed to maintain the brand equity it had accrued in its long history while expressing the evolution towards a more flexible, user-friendly brand. Our team developed a slate of fifty new logos, ranging from simple to radical alterations, the top three candidates were my designs so I was chosen to present them to Microsoft for selection. While recognizably a descendant of its predecessor, the reinvigorated logo is distinguished by its clean lines, energy, and movement – a bright, forward-looking emblem of the digital frontier.
Result
“It was obvious that the new functionality of Windows XP would demand an equally exciting look and feel throughout the product experience,” says Steve Kaneko, the Design Director for Platforms at Microsoft. “With its experience in branding and interactive media, frog design was able to offer valuable support in creative exploration and strategy. This allowed us to deliver a more consistent and cohesive visual concept of Windows.”