Earlier today, the style lead from Microsoft’s Office team spoke about the upcoming icon modifications in both Office and Windows. Now we’re seeing how the groups at Microsoft are collaborating to bring Fluent Design to more items.

In an interview with The Verge, Office Design Lead John Friedman in-depth how the Windows, Office, and even Surface groups are interacting, calling the upcoming collective efforts a “cross business effort.” He stated that the style leads from Windows, Office, and Surface “operate like an internal open source team,” which is an interesting way to think about things. They’re internally sharing all possessions now (which I guess is something they didn’t do before?) for a more unified technique to bringing Fluent Desing to other Microsoft products.

You ‘d be forgiven for not being completely familiar with Fluent Design, which Microsoft introduced last year. This is the company’s new method to design and one that they’re being careful to launch slowly. In contrast to Metro UI, which was pushed out rapidly in an effort to unify Windows and Windows Phone (along with make Window more touch-friendly), Fluent Design is more about a slow roll to get things right the first time.

While the interview itself isn’t all that telling, one big detail wasn’t made clear at all: how Fluent Design uses to Surface. Friedman kept in mind that the Windows, Office, and Surface style leads are collaborating on this– but Surface is hardware, where Office and Windows are software. It’s possible that they’re collaborating to make sure the hardware and software look great together, specifically for the business’s branded items (you understand, like Surface).

Either way, it’s clear that Microsoft is taking design more seriously now than ever because now, that is what sells gadgets.

by means of The Verge