Shipped
Microsoft Game Stack @ Microsoft
Built the launch brand system for Microsoft Game Stack across web, event, and marketing touchpoints.
Defined a unified brand for Microsoft's game development tools so Azure, Xbox, PlayFab, and Visual Studio could tell one clearer story to developers.
Client
Microsoft
Skills
Branding
Design Systems
Tools
Photoshop
Sketch
My Role
Visual Designer
Timeline
Q2 2018 - Q1 2019
Challenge
Microsoft had the tools, but not a unified story for game developers.
Lack of Cohesion
Visual inconsistency across teams and channels.
No Holistic Story
No central narrative explaining how Microsoft supports end-to-end game development.
Competing Brands
Marketing materials felt disjointed and lacked a shared language.
Hard to Discern
Developers had to piece together what tools to use and when.
Outcome
Game Stack launched with one brand system across products, web, events, and campaigns.
6,000+
PlayFab Sign-Ups in Week One
PlayFab saw a major sign-up lift in the first week after GDC.
Microsoft Website
Established a central web destination for Microsoft's game development offering.
Event Rollout
Launched across GDC and other game industry touchpoints.
Unified Narrative
Helped developers understand the Microsoft ecosystem at a glance.
Stronger Market Position
Presented Microsoft as a more coherent partner for game studios.
Design Process
Before touching visuals, we aligned on what the brand needed to achieve. These goals became the principles that guided every decision.
Earn industry credibility
The brand had to feel native to game development — modern and energetic — while still carrying Microsoft's weight. If it felt too corporate, developers would tune it out.
Tell an end-to-end story
Azure, Xbox, PlayFab, and Visual Studio each had their own presence. The system needed to show how they work together across the full development lifecycle, not just sit next to each other.
Speak to indie and AAA alike
The tone had to scale. A solo dev and a large studio both needed to feel like this was built for them — approachable enough for hobbyists, credible enough for enterprise.
Build one ecosystem identity
Products that looked and sounded disconnected needed a shared visual language — one that could flex across channels without losing coherence.
Visual Identity
Those principles shaped the visual system from the ground up.
To ground the brand in game development, we built a visual system inspired by the RTS camera viewpoint.
The 3D illustration style was intentionally simplified and friendly so the brand felt approachable to indie teams.
Co-branding rules tied together Azure, Xbox, PlayFab, and Visual Studio under one language.
GDC 2019
The brand debuted on the show floor at GDC 2019. The booth and website were both structured around the developer journey, from prototyping through to live operations, which put the end-to-end story front and center instead of leading with individual products. Developers could see where each tool fit in their workflow rather than having to piece it together themselves.
