Background

System 7, introduced in 1990, included a number of features now common to both Mac and Windows, including outline views, virtual memory, TrueType, customizable menus, balloon help (or screen tips), file sharing, multitasking, and aliases (or shortcuts). The System 7 team wanted an interactive demo that would run on System 6.x and fit on an 800K diskette.

The project

I was creative director for the System 7 demo, and worked with an interaction agency in New York. The problem was to show the features of a new OS on an existing OS. Limited disk space prevented us from developing full screen animations of System 7 features. In addition, features such as virtual memory had no obvious visual elements.

I decided to use conceptual, not literal, demonstrations of System 7 features and benefits. This allowed the project to come in under the 800K limit. And because the examples weren't literal representations of the new features last-minute changes to the OS didn't result in last-minute scrambles to update the graphics.

Each System 7 feature was preceded by a short animation. To introduce balloon help, parts of a cartoon character’s face were identified as a pointer moved over them. In the animation for the customizable Apple menu, new selections appeared on a restaurant menu as food items appeared on a plate.

Every feature had a written description and an interactive simulation. For example, users could see the balloon help feature in action by moving the pointer over a small simulated Mac window. Users could drag-and-drop items into an Apple folder to customize a stylized Apple menu.