Microsoft Considered Shipping Dynamic Wallpapers with Windows 11

Inspired no doubt by Windows Vista Ultimate Extras, Microsoft considered shipping dynamic wallpapers with Windows 11 in 2022. But it ultimately decided to stick with static wallpapers–still images–as with other Windows versions.

“A variety of dynamic animations and still images were explored for Microsoft’s low-cost devices, primarily targeting educational users,” Sergey Kisselev, a UX motion designer and 3D artist, writes on the Behance social media site. “This work was part of the Windows Creative Direction Team’s efforts to celebrate a new centered signature composition for Windows 11, highlighting its centered Start Menu and taskbar. The designs were crafted to be adaptable for light and dark modes, allowing for flexibility in interpretation and execution.”

Mr. Kisselev is currently employed by Amazon.com, but he formerly worked as a UX motion designer and 3D artist at Microsoft from October 2015 through January 2022. In that capability, he worked on the Fluent Design System and how it might scale spatially across then-current and future Windows devices, among other things.

Microsoft did consider shipping dynamic (animated) wallpapers in Windows 11, and vestigial underpinnings of that work were included in Windows 11 version 22H2 in 2022, though they’ve since been removed. So his publishing of prototype designs is interesting. Note, however, that none of the animations he shows on the site are available as finished dynamic wallpapers you can use now.

Definitely worth a peek.