Bill Flora on his recent visit to Art Center. Photo by Alex Aristei.
When Bill Flora arrived to his first day of work at Microsoft just over 20 years ago, as the ink was still drying on his Art Center degree, there were only seven designers working on staff at the company. At the time, Bill Gates’ thriving empire was the Goliath of the software industry. Products like Microsoft Word had become a brand synonymous with the service it provided, like Kleenex or Q-Tips. In essence, Microsoft sold itself — so design took a backseat to innovations in engineering.
Things have changed considerably since then. It’s no coincidence that design has become a prime mover at Microsoft, driving the development of its most high-profile software and hardware releases. This shift occurred thanks in no small part to the contributions Flora made during his two-decade tenure at the company, which included work on a wide variety of products, from the Encarta Encyclopedia to the Windows Phone. His most lasting legacy at Microsoft, however, may lie within the set of design principles (now known as Microsoft Design Language), which he devised prior to leaving his post as design director in 2011 to launch his own interactive design firm, Tectonic.
During a recent trip to reconnect with his Art Center roots, Flora (BFA, 1991) took time out to chat with the Dotted Line about his career trajectory as a high-flying design evangelist in the tech world.
The Dotted Line: Did Microsoft recruit you straight out of Art Center?
Bill Flora: Not so much. I went up there. I had studied graphics and packaging with an interest in interactive design. I was looking at NeXT Computer and ILM. And it just happened that Microsoft was hiring.
TDL: Microsoft, at that time, was really known as an engineering-based company.
BF: Yes, We were fighting the good fight for many years and ultimately had many successes. We were able to create changes in how we approached building software. And now many parts of the company are design-led which would have been unheard-of ten years ago at Microsoft. When I started I was doing basic things like designing icons and dialogue boxes. Then I got to start a dream project called Encarta Encyclopedia. With Encarta I was able to use the skills I’d learned at Art Center and start to apply those to this great set of content. What I learned from Lou Danziger and others is that design is in the service of communication and the content. And the challenge was how do we bring this content to life? How do we connect it to your average everyday person and student? To be honest, another benefit of being at Microsoft was that the bar was so low. And my approach was very different. I had very much a print design orientation. And it just opened a lot of eyes. So Encarta was able to win a lot of design awards. I got to be part of a lot of juries. That was early in my career.
What I really liked about Microsoft was the potential to impact so many people. I’m not really in this business just for myself. As a designer I want to impact as many people as possible and it was a great vehicle for that.
After Encarta I went into Windows Media Center, which was about new experiences in the living room. Kind of like TIVO. And we were able to create a software platform and create the things we were passionate about, which was great motion design. So we were evangelists for building great tools and that allowed us to do work that really stood out.That’s been a big part of my career there. I have been able to see big changes in how you approach building software. And now many parts of the company are design-led which would have been unheard-of 10 years ago at Microsoft. I felt we were fighting the good fight for many years and had many successes.
TDL: You were able to influence the visual direction at Microsoft…
BF: Microsoft was in a position where it really needed to do something, to stand out and have a voice of its own. I was encouraged to expand my visual approach to more places in the company and It turns out Windows Phone was the first place where we could apply [design] principles in a very structured way. Windows Phone needed to do something really quickly. So we developed principles essentially that other groups could use to inform their design: great hierarchy; attention to detail; clean, light and open design; no skeuomorphism. And ultimately the most important principle is that design is in the service of the content. When you approach it that way, the design starts to not be as decorative. It becomes a little more simple. Once we developed these guidelines, we gave it a name: Metro. It’s now called Microsoft Design Language. It was really about good graphic design principles integrated with motion and interaction design. I had a partner in this. His name is Jeff Fong. Jeff went on to lead design for Windows Phone. He’s also an Art Center grad!
The other success was informing how we could build software at Microsoft, changing the DNA of how you build software was one of the biggest wins. Having design emerge earlier in the process. Devoting more resources to fit and finish at the end of the process really made a big difference at the company.
TDL: What made you decide to leave?
BF: Metro started taking over and I was super excited about it but it was also actually a great time to leave. Leave on a high note. I had a fabulous career. I could see just retiring there. But I’m really glad that I moved on. Having my own firm is a great chapter 2.
TDL: What are you looking to do with Tectonic?
BF: Right now we’re about 15 designers. We are the software design team for Bang & Olufsen, which really wants to bring its software up to the level of the aesthetic of their industrial design. So it’s a huge opportunity for us to bring our vision and skills to the process of delivering software design for a revered brand like that.
Tectonic is about inspiring, engaging and delighting people. We want to create next-generation mobile interfaces, consumer electronics software design, and new experiences for digital content presentation. There’s huge potential for how tablets and TV can work together. For example, we’ve worked with NFL on [augmenting] the gameday experience in your home. What can you do to make that more impactful?
TDL: Are you part of the growing community of Art Center grads in Seattle?
BF: I know a few people. But I’m really excited to get reengaged with Art Center again. I’d love to hire some students and interns. Hearing about Art Center’s engagement with external firms, that’s a service I can bring to my clients.
It’s fun to see how Art Center-influenced Microsoft! And you can even see Art Center’s influence in some of the Apple iOS 7 work: no skeuomorphism, clean open [design]. I definitely think some of the work we did at Microsoft ended up influencing Apple.
