Zoom-in Online

Bill Buxton, of Microsoft Research and author of "Sketching User Experience", opened with theme of "It's A Good Time For Design!". He's making the case that during this economy, design is not only still relevant, but even more important than ever.

Making the case for, "Return on Design". Gives the example of Walter Dorwin Teague, designer of the Kodak Vanity which came out in 1928 and produced huge returns during the depression - didn't just survive, but thrived.

Also, mentioned the iPod (!) as a prime example of how design can be used to drive market growth. Pretty prominent mention for the first 10 minutes of the Mix keynote.

Bill's focus for the keynote is not at all about the products Microsoft is making; it's actually about the idea of design.  In a way it's a very sophisticated talk, that any savvy marketer would recognize - talk about the benefits, not the features.  

So, I suppose, over the next 48 hours, we're going to see myriad ways that Microsoft can help deliver the reality of good design experience.  Stay tuned.