Microsoft Teams — Connecting Communities.
We’ve developed a cohesive system of images and videos to help users select visuals that resonate with their teams.
The goal is to showcase the human side of Teams users while fostering a stronger sense of community. By using friendly, engaging metaphors, we aim to inspire people to see Teams not just as a platform, but as a space for meaningful connection and collaboration.
Each hero image is designed to treat the user interface as a product—placing it within relatable, natural environments and surrounding it with carefully chosen elements. These visual elements are meant to evoke belonging and shared identity, reinforcing the idea that Teams is more than a productivity tool: it’s a hub where collaboration, unity, and team spirit come to life.
Celebration
Even an ordinary event like playing games or sports with your mattes can turn into extraordinary experiences.
So, we want to glorify our product through dynamic visual compositions, variety of scales, eye-catching color combinations and tactile textures.
Communal
A group of people who shares common interests and goals acts like a natural ecosystem where everyone inspires each other.
We aim to represent it by a mix of nature with gradients, color reflections and caustics to give a dreamlike touch.
Calm
Solidity & calmness are communicated by incorporating soft lights and cast shadows to create a peaceful & timeless visual experience.
Organic shapes, nature elements such as rough wood, organic shapes, and uncluttered layouts to evoke a sense of calmness and harmony, where creative processes can easily flow.
We've created a visual system for Microsoft Teams using geometric shapes and typography to represent diversity and unity. Simple, varied shapes symbolise different categories, adaptable in both 2D and 3D. Mixing two Segoe font variations adds a modern touch, enhancing hierarchy and highlighting key text. Tone-on-tone color schemes ensure cohesion while allowing for creative future possibilities.
Take a look at the steps of the process.
Credits
A project by NotReal
Creative Direction: Milton Gonzalez
Executive Production: Roberto Connolly
Project Manager: Sofía Lopez Pumarega
Art direction: Luján Borzi
Animation Direction: Sebastian Baptista
Illustration: Loris Alessandria, Nahuel Rollan
2D Design: Florencia Porreca, Loris Alessandria
3D Design: Vitor Texeira, Juan Cioffi, Flor Tasso, Joan García Pons, Jose Llano, Carolina Carballo, Simon Appel
3D Animation: Alex Loud, Federico Piccirillo, Oscar Pettersson, Marcus Bakke, Juan Pablo Sciaccaluga, Gonzalo Diaz
2D Animation: Pablo Lozano
Simulations: Paul Esteves
Rendering: Juan Cioffi
Compositing & Color Grading: Mauricio Navas, Milton Gonzalez
Sound Design: Facundo Capece
Client: Microsoft
Principal Designer: Sue Nguyen
Principal Creative Director: Colin Day
Principal Creative Director: Alexis Copeland
Senior Design Program Manager: Shane Tierney
Senir 3D Designer: Danil Tabacari
Year: 2023