Skype redesigns for iPhone and enlists Kate Moross

The design is a ‘total re-write and redesign of the app’ according to Skype creative lead Jesse Boyce and  ‘takes inspiration from iOS7, Microsoft’s modern UI design language and Skype’s brand equity’ he says.

Changes to the app include photo sharing and the ability to start a group chat. The interface has been made simpler, features include Recents, Favourites and Finding people, users can receive IM messages offline, and they can see chats and chat history across devices.

Boyce was looking to increase engagement with Skype iPhone users and ‘show off the new user experience’ while familiarising users with common features in the app.

To do this, Boyce – working with production company Just So and director Chris Gaunt – has created an awareness film starring illustrator Kate Moross and Jamie Elliot of fabricators JAILmake who have collaborated by using Skype for iPhone to create a ‘remastered’ Skype logo ‘to demonstrate the revamped product in a real world context’ and ‘celebrate the handcrafted tech inherent in the product,’ he says.

The finished 3D logo that has been created is a sound responsive installation, which glows according to ambient noise – ‘meeting my brief that it needed to be powered by conversation’ says Boyce. 

A screen is encased behind the logo, which is composed of 1300 LED rods. When a microphone picks up sound, animated dots emanate form the centre of the screen outwards.

‘The louder the noise the bigger and faster the dots,’ says Boyce. It will be installed in the reception are of Skype’s London offices

The film is housed on a microsite and sits alongside demonstration clips.   A 30-second edit of the awareness film has been incorporated into the app and plays once the user has installed the new update.

Photographer Kate Booker has captured stills and video footage of Kate Moross and Jamie Elliot ‘to extend the story and narrative across all creative assets,’ says Boyce.