Windows Out of Box Experience (OOBE)

Goal: Collaborate with the Microsoft Accounts team to improve the user experience for the Out of Box Experiences across Windows devices.

Overview:

As part of Microsoft's Windows Creative Direction team, I worked closely with the Accounts team to build the user experience for OOBE, which is used across all Microsoft products.

When a customer uses a new Windows device for the first time, OOBE is the very first interaction they have with Windows Software. It serves as an introduction to the product and how it works, and also guides the customer through the set-up for their device. Within the 12 OOBE screens the customer is prompted to choose their user settings, create an official Microsoft account, and sync to the OneDrive cloud with their family. In order to build excitement about their new device, it was important to bring moments of delight to the setup process. As the illustrator for this project I was able to implement the Fluent illustration style to bring joy to an otherwise sterile sequence of screens. I kept the metaphors simple and clear to avoid distraction from the steps themselves, while incorporating more whimsical compositions whenever possible. Once the illustrations were finalized, I worked with our motion designers to bring them to life as the user moves forward with the steps.

Considerations:

• Each illustration needed to fit within a square aspect ratio so they easily adapt to different devices, including future duel-screen devices such as the Surface Neo and Surface Duo
• The illustrations should work together as a family, both within the OOBE, and with other Fluent style elements across products
  
• They should be able to animate in a similar style to transition from one screen to the next
• The palette should include the classic Windows blue as the primary color without feeling overwhelming or reminiscent of the "blue screen of death" 
• The experience should feel lighter and simpler than past OOBE, which included up to a hundred different screens, took a significant amount of time from the user
• User's should feel excited about their new product, seeing Windows as a modern solution without becoming overwhelmed by the setup process
• The final design will be used for various markets, including Consumer, Enterprise, and Education

To learn more about the Fluent style of illustration, check out this article I was a part of with The Verge!