XBOX 360 FOR MICROSOFT
FROM GAMING, TO PLAYING
We weren’t meant to win the twenty-four-way international pitch to design the Xbox.
Up until 2003, my team and I had been working on web and CD-ROM builds for Microsoft Office. We’d heard rumours of a pitch for a secret console known as Project Occam, and so relentlessly pestered our client for an invitation to take part.
Whether he had believed in us, or just wanted a quiet life, wasn't clear - tenacity had paid off and we were invited into the pitch. The word ‘wildcard’ was mentioned more than a few times.
The presentation in Seattle to Bill Gates & Microsoft board, and subsequent (very surprise) win, marked the beginning of an incredible project that would see my team and I design, build and test a vast spectrum of interface experiences, as well as influence directly the industrial and brand design of the new console.
It was critical that the design process across brand, interface and product was holistic, resulting in an experience that was cohesive, authentic and seamless. Interface informed product, which in turn informed interface and both of which informed brand.
Over the space of a year, close to one hundred experience designs were reduced to four. These were then taken on a worldwide roadshow to understand how different cultures and audiences related to and operated them. The GUI selected for production was known as 'Concertina' to the design team, and Xbox 360 Dashboard to the rest of the world; a tabbed interface that featured five 'Blades'. Launched automatically when the console booted, the system featured an array of customisation options for the consumer's individual consoles.
This ability to customise was an entirely new concept for console gaming, exemplifying our central design philosophy ‘playing, not gaming’.
Lightning fast, and immediately intuitive, the central idea of the system was to get players to their game as fast as possible. At a time when the majority of screen interfaces seemed more concerned with showing how elaborate and ‘experiential’ they were, we focused completely on the greatest user need: to play.
The interface also had the ability to hold multiple profiles on the same console with each user able to customise the dashboard to fit their own unique style. Additional ‘premium themes’ were designed and made available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Today, all these features are considered standard. Back then, it was magic.
When the dashboard was updated three years later, one of the original four designs, 'Slice', informed the new design. A testament to the teams deep understanding of the audience and system.
Officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, it’s pioneering use of digital media distribution and multi-player gaming through Xbox Live led the Xbox 360 to be recognised as the most influential console of its time.
Its design and holistic user experience helped position Microsoft as a major force in the console market, providing it with a priceless strategic lead over its well-established rivals. Not bad for the wildcard that wasn’t meant to win.
THE FINAL DASHBOARD INTERFACE. LIGHTNING FAST WITH THE XBOX CONTROLLER.
“The challenge was huge; Microsoft had high expectations for Xbox 360 which had a goal to take Xbox to next level and, by bringing other forms of entertainment into the console, broaden the user base beyond hard core gamers.
The Microsoft design team was small, the timeline was short and the specs and feature set kept evolving. As a result, we leant on James for a significant amount of heavy lifting.
He and his team worked fast and smart; they created a design system that not only accommodated a huge range of features and was completely scalable, but was a joy to use while staying true to the brand. The result was a design experience that the world loved, and served our needs perfectly.”
DON COYNER
GENERAL MANAGER OF ENTERTAINMENT DESIGN, MICROSOFT
