Microsoft is overhauling the illustrations it makes use of all through its services to make them much less flat and extra playful and attention-grabbing. The earlier iteration of illustrations was closely vector-based, with a flat illustration fashion that may be discovered all through apps like Microsoft Groups, Skype, Workplace, and even components of Home windows. Now, Microsoft is shifting in direction of 3D designs that deliver again skeuomorphism, along with extra colourful and playful designs.
“Our research confirmed that whereas our illustrations may very well be described as colourful, inclusive, and genial on a floor degree, they have been acquired inside shopper tradition as uninteresting and impassive,” explains the Microsoft Design crew in a weblog publish outlining the brand new illustrations. “The flat vectorized fashion that was as soon as vastly fashionable throughout the business was now speaking sub-optimally and doubtlessly evoking concepts and themes that have been misaligned with our firm values.”
Microsoft has now overhauled its illustrations with a mode that’s “designed to simplify and unify our merchandise with a definite Microsoft aesthetic.” The result’s the combination of much more shapes and symbols from Microsoft’s Fluent design language, with a extra saturated coloration palette.
The 3D illustrations are much more expressive and playful than the flat and desaturated fashion that Microsoft has been utilizing lately, with a concentrate on gentle contours and extra curves, shapes, and components that mirror the pure world.
Microsoft’s new illustrations also needs to higher complement accompanying textual content. “Our earlier illustrations typically duplicated accompanying written copy, creating pointless psychological pressure and occasional confusion,” says Microsoft’s design crew. “Being extra intentional with how our illustrations harmonized with different components inside the consumer’s expertise may assist alleviate this.”
Microsoft is now utilizing extra general-purpose illustrations throughout completely different apps, so there are fewer bespoke illustrations that used to make its merchandise feel and look completely different. “We additionally leveraged our Fluent iconography to repeat, reuse, and re-purpose a collection of related objects,” says Microsoft.
The problem for Microsoft now can be updating its illustrations throughout all of its services within the months forward. Microsoft continues to evolve its iconography, illustrations, and total Fluent design system recurrently, so anticipate to see even these newest illustrations refined once more sooner or later.
