Package Design - May 2013 - 44

FIELD NOTES

Vibrant Discovery
Microsoft opens a world of color for Windows.

THE PRODUCT
Microsoft makes a clean break with its redesigned Windows 8 packaging.
Gone is the wavy ﬂag logo and in its place is a more literal representation
of a window.
Die-cut in a sleek paperboard sleeve, this new window gives shoppers
a peek at a vibrantly printed inner carton. When consumers take the package home and slide off the modern, minimalist sleeve, they are greeted
with a packaging experience that explodes with color—which suggests
that Windows can be a gateway to a vivid, imaginative new world. But
does the new branding resonate with designers?

THE VERDICT
The pattern-behind-the-window format,
while a little expected, is no less effective; the variety of implementation on
this structure alone proves that the simplest solution can still be striking. And
while the packaging won’t—and likely
isn’t meant to—convert devotees of that
other operating system, it does remind us
that there’s more personality to Windows
than just spreadsheets and Solitaire.
Charles Bloom, senior art director at Moxie Sozo

Seen in the context of Microsoft’s
recent rebrand, using the window shape
as a window into the pack is such an
obvious solution—but one that in execution adds tremendous personality to
the product, and that challenges the
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MAY 2013

way consumers have come to think
about this previously staid brand.
Taking advantage of both the hype
and curiosity surrounding their new
interface, Microsoft and the team that
did this work were smart to dramatically
shift the look of their packaging to
match the similarly bold shift in their
interface. The juxtaposition of beautiful
colors and patterns peaking out through
the die-cut in the simply adorned sleeve
to say “something bold and exciting is
inside,” is the first touch-point in a
multi-tiered series of reveals that I
believe wonderfully introduces a new
product, from a newly imagined company to an expanded target market.
Ben Jura, design director at Elements

Looking at the Microsoft redesign from
the perspective of an Apple-driven
industry, I’m impressed. These packages are a vast improvement for the
Windows brand.
Issues with the logo design aside,
the packages show that Microsoft as a
whole is adopting a new consumercentric approach.
When a brand has a monopoly, it
often meets consumer demand for
design with silence. The days of a
Microsoft monopoly are gone, and we
see Microsoft adopting a new
consumer-centric approach to design.
It is good to hear the voice of consumers
starting to scream through the visual
language coming from Microsoft. PD
Aaron Keller, managing principal at Capsule

Want to have your package design
highlighted in this column or
comment on future, spotlighted package
designs? Contact Linda Casey at
linda.casey@stmediagroup.com and type
“Field Notes” in the email subject line.

Package Design - May 2013

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