Once in a while a project comes along that really changes the way you think as a Designer. This was that project for me. From initial napkin sketches and location scouting to on-set filming and even pixel-pushing final visuals and animations, I was there for all of it. Microsoft has been producing these vision videos for many years now and continually raises the bar when it comes to overall quality and creativeness.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the team tasked with creating the most recent vision video. These videos are meant to paint a provocative look into a potential future incorporating new technology into our everyday lives. Microsoft uses these videos to provide inspiration to both internal teams as well as external partners and customers. Numerous products were shipped by Microsoft as a result of the concepts we explored in this video.

HARDWARE DESIGN

A large portion of the work we put into this video was inventing the various hardware concepts we needed to help visualize our interaction story. We covered a serious amount of ground when it came to the range of devices we created. Augmented reality diving masks, flexible tablet notebooks, digital bracelets, and biometric sensing earbuds are just a few notable devices. Each device required a unique interaction method that was all orchestrated to work together using one single interaction model that we developed.

SOFTWARE DESIGN

The number of visuals we produced for this video rivals that of many major motion pictures. In a matter of months, we developed entire visual and interaction languages that were projections of what the Microsoft design language could become in 10 years. We also developed an interaction model that transitioned to nearly every single device, which meant we had to invent interaction methods for many of these scenarios. This work was extremely daunting but also extremely rewarding and exciting. Lots of late nights and early mornings went into this project.