How Microsoft does Experiential Design Right

I visited the Microsoft Experience Center (in Midtown NYC) for a special event geared towards educators a few weeks ago and would highly recommend anyone interested in emergent technologies or experiential design to go check it out. For those who don’t remember, Microsoft had closed all of its retail locations during the pandemic (and they are still closed today with no plans to reopen) but since the middle of 2021, they’ve opened a handful of these so-called “Experience Centers” here and there. 

Microsoft Experience Center

These centers don’t seem to operate like a traditional retail store for customers to order products from. Instead, the emphasis is almost entirely on allowing people to come in and “experience” the products in person. In fact, of its 8 or 9 floors, only 1 showcased their gadgets. They have 2 floors dedicated to holding events, another for eSports tournaments, and yet another for just eSports gaming.

So how come Microsoft is willing to pay such high rents for retail space in NYC and not fill up every single floor with products (like Nike or Apple, for instance)?

Selling the Experience

Well, the answer became clear as our event began with a live demonstration of their latest Hololens 2 Augmented Reality headset. As one of the staff members interacted with the device, the rest of us were able to follow along with what he was able to see on the large-screen tv behind him.

It was pretty cool, there’s no denying that. If you remember how Tom Cruise’s character used computers in the futuristic movie Minority Report, it looked a lot like that. And as they continued to demo the Hololens 2’s unique features, it dawned on me that the Education industry could very likely be one of their biggest customers.

The Microsoft Experience Center wasn’t built for retail customers to just walk in off the streets and buy a $500 tablet; it was designed for the school administrator to come play around with the latest tech and then put in a purchase order for millions of dollars. It was, in essence, the furniture store business model (albeit with a few differences).

How They Designed the Experience

And what about us, the learning experience designers and grad students? Well, Microsoft may have built the technology for it, but they would also need people to go ahead and populate this new ecosystem with various apps and modules. As a UX Designer, I thoroughly appreciated this very user-centered approach to making use of a physical space. Instead of shoving products in your face for you to buy, they designed the experience to feel inclusive…that you, the customer, are actually a part of the team and how it is your creativity and input that they were looking for moreso than the cash in your wallet.

"they designed the experience to feel inclusive...that you are actually a part of the team"

I went home afterwards filled with new ideas about all the modules I could potentially build on this platform. I did some more research on AR in EdTech, and came to find that (of course) companies like Meta, Apple, and a very promising one called Magic Leap, are all racing to get their AR products into schools as fast as possible. 

But I’m thinking of going back to Microsoft to see if I can work with them to build out some apps for their platform now. And that’s because it was Microsoft that designed an experience to make learning designers like me feel very included in the process. Meta and Apple have the budget and resources to do what Microsoft has done, but the fact that they didn’t keeps them a critical step or two behind Microsoft in the race to be on the cutting edge; and it’s at the razor-tight margins like these where market share may ultimately be decided.