I was brought on to the Office 2007 team as a freelance designer towards the end of their project to design preset 3D icons and graphic sets for the Visio portion of the product. This was a study in form, color, lighting and textures. The functionality of the graphics played a key part in the design and implementation. A true case in where form follows function.
The graphics above were done as a texture study to find a nice balance of warm and inviting colors, along with soft rounded edging and subtle bump textures to give the feeling of suede. This was to soften the traditional looking presets while giving both the user and the viewer a more pleasurable presentation/viewing experience.
The graphics below are additional studies taking on more material variations, while playing with various aspects of both color and texture (displacement/bump/specular) allowing for a multitude of “3D-type” graphics.
Client: Microsoft | Filter:Talent
Software: 3DS Max, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
Circa: 2005
