A hero image is a small, but not insignificant, way to change the impression of a company you've known for decades. Beyond that, it's a sign that Microsoft wants to change the the way you think about the company. And that's great-we hope the rest of Windows 10 follows suit. “But it’s all physical, and we shot it and built it.”Ĭompared to Windows previous clip-art-esque main images, the glowing window does feel like the company is harkening back to a more visually exciting time. “It looks like something straight out of Tron, and that makes me happy,” Gmunk says. The final image is a composite of about 10 exposures, which combine the different qualities of light to produce a sense of depth. Gmunk shot thousands of exposures on what he describes as a “crazy 50 megapixel camera,” using various visual effects like smoke, lasers, and bokeh (out-of-focus effects produced by the lens). As Microsoft’s creative director, Chris Ashworth, puts it: “You can only change perception by doing and showing it.” It wants to show that artists and creatives-not just buttoned-up 9-to-5ers-use its products to make cool stuff. It’s a fitting message, as the company’s big marketing push for Windows 10 is about highlighting all the stuff people can do on Windows. If images could talk, it'd say we’re a creative, nimble company, not a bloated corporation that powers your work computer. It feels decidedly 2015-modern, sleek, and a little moody.

The backdrop-a glowing, blue-hued window-will be what every Windows 10 user first sees when he or she turns on the computer. Now, with the release of Windows 10 next month, Microsoft is unveiling a brand new hero image that it hopes will help redefine what the company means in 2015. Yes, we’re talking about the idyllic, sunshiny Bliss photo taken in Sonoma County by Charles O’Rear.Īs far as operating-system images go, Microsoft set itself a pretty high bar from the start-a bar, we have to admit, it’s struggled to hit again with Windows Vista, 7, and 8. The only image in the history of pre-loaded computer images that has deserved to remain as your background came from Windows XP in 2001. Dell’s swoopy blue swatch? Thanks, but no thanks. Apple’s starry, galactic image? Pretty lame. Your computer’s default wallpaper was designed to be changed.

Windows 10 hero desktop image