News & Stories

A former motion storyteller turns to design systems and prototyping, using AI to sketch wireframes and make widgets feel real.

How Microsoft reduced single-use plastic in packaging to just 0.07%

When the model is the new medium, shaping how it behaves in humanistic ways is design

How scrappy prototypes became polished apps—shipped on the taskbar, grounded in Fluent, and refined by research.

What we learned rebuilding the Microsoft Inclusive Design website with the communities we serve

A practical guide to build agents that stay differentiated, intent-aligned, and bias-resistant

How we are shaping systems that help people think better, not just type faster.

Explore how typography decisions really affect readability, accessibility, and brand expression.

How we redesigned the Microsoft 365 Copilot mobile app to create a workspace built around conversation, dialogue, and discovery.

Evolving business apps and agents through form and function

Six practical mindsets for building secure and resilient UX

Our guiding force behind designing Windows for the AI era

How a subtle refresh of our Microsoft 365 icons signals deeper change.

How cybernetic loops are helping us turn “human in the loop” from a catchphrase into a design practice

Joining forces across our design community to push the boundaries of creativity and collaboration. 

Meet Quirine, a computational design manager exploring how AI reshapes the way her team builds and test ideas

Using positive psychology to craft delightful sign-in & sign-up experiences

A Deaf-led approach to making Sign Language a core principle of inclusive design

Meet Braz De Pina, a Principal Product Designer for Microsoft’s Experience Collective Horizontal Design Studio

AI could create economic mobility for essential frontline workers—here’s how product makers can shift our thinking to encompass those experiences

Discover how one team transformed a complex UX research framework into a visually engaging artifact to make insights stick and spark alignment across teams

How Microsoft is reimagining productivity from a mobile-first lens

How we rebuilt the Microsoft 365 Copilot app for a new kind of productivity

How we made digital text like printed words on paper

AI, Emily Dickinson, and the War on the Em Dash

This is the first post in our new Beyond the Surface series, a behind-the-scenes look at how craft comes to life in Windows products and features.

How we crafted a new line of Surface Copilot+ PCs to empower creation, connection and change

Our approach to Human-Centered Design, and the gaps therein

Designing for diversity isn’t just about accessibility or localization—it’s about building bridges through shared understanding.

How generative AI is transforming how we tell stories at Microsoft through film.

Emma Nestvold, a UX designer on the Windows design team, shares insights into her approach to design and experiences working on AI-driven features

Microsoft principles and guidelines for building agentic experiences

Exploring the art, worldbuilding, and folklore-inspired design process

Using design to empower children by making reading easier, improving comprehension, and helping dyslexics.

How our AI Expression system brings ideas to life

The Microsoft Packaging & Content team just released “Creating Accessible Packaging: An Inclusive Design Guide,” available for all.

Human error causes a majority of security breaches. Our UX toolkit can help you build secure and empowered user experiences.

Meet Sheetal Agarwal, a UX Research Director for Windows + Devices & Aspen Institute 2024 First Founders Fellow

A trip to Sintra that pushed the boundaries of my creativity

What if AI had a resume? Our latest UX research exercise revealed fresh insights into AI’s role, challenges, and future in UX design.

A futuristic exploration between Microsoft and Artemide based on the interplay of light and technology.

Why former English majors will become the epicenter of technology & design.

What I wish I’d known starting out as a designer in big tech.

How we’re building the tools to build the future

Check out our latest UX video breakdown

How we can flip the script on tokenism

Rethinking our illustrations to create better experiences for our customers.

How I accidentally became a startup guy and saved my mom’s skin

How we made a visual design tool for everybody

In the ever-evolving landscape of design, color isn’t just visual—it’s emotional.

A Content Designer from Microsoft Clipchamp tells her story

Our design journey to redefine Outlook for Windows through craftsmanship, intelligence, and personalization.

Connecting the outer worlds of our environment to the inner world of self

The science behind how design choices influence perception and behavior

Kristine Golus, the woman behind Xbox’s home editorial experience

Our toolkit for designing with cognitive diversity extends into wellbeing

A one-size-fits-one toolkit for designing inclusive hardware

A comprehensive guide of what’s what for Microsoft Design Week

Journey through the design process for our new default font

A look at how we designed a new dimension of expression

Xbox celebrates a year of visual storytelling by launching new dynamic backgrounds

The demanding field requires constant learning and adaptation to new technologies and tools

The unique ethos that sparked Surface’s pioneering 2-in-1 design, from the seminal Surface Pro to the new Surface Laptop Studio 2

How a Design Director’s experience with synesthesia influenced her learning in design

Senior Content Designer Jenny Williams talks about her role, and working with AI

Meet Jason Custer, an icon designer on the Fluent Design System team

Introducing Aptos, our modern successor to Calibri

The design thinking behind a new website building experience

When the system is the product; on crafting the next generation of user experiences

The design thinking and user research that turned into Microsoft Loop

What I learned from a year of fostering a virtual design community

How we crafted a bespoke visual identity for our cloud platforms and services

How psychology, semiotics, and dazzling imagery are converging to improve the future of hybrid work

How Black and African art and culture shaped design as we know it

How principles of radical interdependence can be applied to UX design

Samantha Kitetu, a UX designer, sits down to talk with Ohemaa Dixon to discuss her journey in UX design so far in Nairobi, Kenya

How sustainable design practices can digitally reduce our carbon footprint.

Collaborating with Alcantara to integrate renewable materials into Surface Pro Signature Keyboard

A multi-year design journey to rearchitect Teams from the ground up

Karthi Subbaraman, a Design Group Experience Manager, sits down to talk with her colleague Rachel Romano to reflect on her journey in product making for Women’s History Month

Amina Hassan Said Islam, a UX researcher, sits down to talk with her colleague Harrison Maina to discuss her journey in UX research so far in Nairobi, Kenya

How a Principal Design Researcher is bridging the digital divide

Viola Bazanye, a UX engineer, sits down to talk with her colleague Timothy Achumba to discuss her journey in design so far in Nairobi, Kenya

Senior UX engineer Kelly Gorr shares her journey of discovery and innovation

For the first time ever, we’re inviting external audiences to preview a batch of curated talks from our largest internal design event. Here’s your guide on what’s what, the full playlist, and more.

Our design journey to modernize Outlook

How a Microsoft designer uses activism to bring the Black experience to the forefront at work and beyond.

How we’re designing assisted devices to give everyone access to the future.

Designing icons for experiences that empower employees

How product designers can break from the status quo and help our planet

A video featuring the lives and contributions of Latinx & Hispanic designers at Microsoft.

Bringing LGBTQIA+ history to life in the metaverse and through open source design.

On designing for mental health and the power of emotionally safe spaces

Why we’re excited to freely share our emoji for you to remix

Insights and best practices from Microsoft’s Inclusive Research team

A mini-documentary on the lives and contributions of Blacks at Microsoft

Behind the designs of our 2022 Pride campaign, from the new Xbox controller to fresh creations in Teams & Outlook

Green Design Principles that every designer can use to combat climate change

The first in a series of personal essays that brings to life the rich perspectives of the design community at Microsoft

Collaborating with Pantone to bring more color to work and life

A cross-discipline collaboration to ethically leverage AI and improve in-person shopping experiences

How the Fluent Design System helps us evolve and grow better together

Why we refreshed our 1800+ emoji to support the new landscape of work

Leveraging customer insights and empathy to create for a billion people.

How the Microsoft Mixed Reality Studios explored more immersive interactions

We’ve commissioned five new custom fonts–which should become our next default?

How your web searches empower everyday giving

Collaborating with legendary textile brand, Liberty, to give the iconic Windows Bloom an Art Nouveau twist

What introverts can teach us about better meeting design

Helping shoppers save time and money with an intelligent browser

How these control freaks leveled up our new wireless controller

Why these designers had to be in the room where it happens

Building your moral imagination to create a more ethical future

Part two: The external user review

A designer’s guide to finding flow from home

How we’re pushing collaborative technologies beyond the status quo

25 years on, a story of redemption

Five ways emerging women leaders can lift each other up

How we’re crafting Dark Mode experiences across Microsoft 365 that adapt to your daily flow

How we streamlined resource creation in Microsoft Azure to improve usability, consistency, and accessibility

Meaningful insights from three very different GHC attendees

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.

Tailoring complex experiences for every user level

Whether you’re a novice or a vet, there’s always more to learn about content strategy

Blur Effects, Part 2: Anti-aliasing

How we implemented the Fluent Design System across Microsoft Azure to improve usability, consistency, and accessibility for a highly complex and evolving cloud

How we evolved the Microsoft Office 365 user experience to support a more simple, powerful, and intelligent suite of connected products

3 designers reflect and recap their time at the 2018 Adobe 99u Conference

A history of designing Cortana’s personality

How our team made fan-loved functionality more Fluent