On designing experiences that encompass your wellbeing — Productivity is personal. Who we are as human beings deeply influences productivity as both a process and an outcome. …

How we hit “Ctrl + N” on mobile productivity Co-authored with Deepak Menon, Partner Director of Design at Microsoft India Over 3 billion smartphone owners across the world use their devices to get things done in a matter of seconds. …

Redesigning over 100 icons with new colors, materials, and finishes — Blank pages and redesigns have nothing on sequels. Last year, we rolled out the new Office icons to show our customers that we’ve evolved our products to support the changing world of work. A world where, despite being more mobile than ever before, social connectedness and collaboration are paramount to…

Our global journey to rethink, redesign, and align our mobile experiences — In Seattle, an engineer thumbs through a Mumbai-based coworker’s edits while walking between meetings. In rural China, an artisan uses their phone to sell their creations. In Johannesburg, a lawyer texts back a client before catching the bus. These real-life snapshots show the diverse and evolving workflows of today’s 5…

How we’re pushing collaborative technologies beyond the status quo — In real life, collaboration is keenly felt; it’s communal, fast, frustrating, fun, and everything in between. In digital products, however, we currently only see collaboration (hello, co-authoring flags!). While that’s still useful, this difference turns a dynamic process into a series of static hand-offs. At Microsoft Design, we know collaboration…

How we’re crafting Dark Mode experiences across Microsoft 365 that adapt to your daily flow — People often think of Dark Mode as a choice between a black or white screen, but this feature involves a wide spectrum of both grayscale and color gradients. It’s an apt metaphor for why we love Dark Mode: human needs unfold across an equally broad spectrum. Whether you want to…

Design is becoming the heart and soul of Office. Learn how we evolved our visual identity to reflect the simple, powerful, and intelligent experiences of Office 365. — Whoever said that nothing is more intimidating than the blank page probably never faced a redesign. The last time we updated the Microsoft Office icons was in 2013, when selfies were new enough to become Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year and emojis were new enough to be considered buzzworthy.

How we evolved the Microsoft Office 365 user experience to support a more simple, powerful, and intelligent suite of connected products — The spectrum of work and ideas that Microsoft Office supports is diverse beyond imagination. That’s not hyperbole; it’s simply what happens when over a billion people use Office across vastly different industries, disciplines, geographies, and generations. …