Surface Laptop Go
Oct 2020
Bringing Compact, Premium Surface Design to a Wider Audience
Broadening access to Surface quality and craftsmanship in a smaller footprint while meeting aggressive cost and scale targets.
Intuitive Fingerprint-Power Button Integration
Combining biometric security and power functionality to create a simple, intuitive, and cost-effective experience.
Meet Sustainability Goals with Essential Durability
Balancing lightweight construction with everyday durability and incorporating post-consumer recycled plastics to support sustainability goals.
Design Through Prototyping: Refining the Fingerprint Power Button
On Surface Laptop Go, we integrated a fingerprint sensor into the power button to streamline the design and enhance usability. This created a challenge: preventing accidental shutdowns when users intended only to authenticate.
We built and tested physical prototypes to simulate real-world use, refining both the design and system behavior. Iterative testing ensured the feature was intuitive to discover while avoiding false activation—delivering a seamless, frustration-free experience without compromising the minimalist aesthetic.
Introducing Rounded Display Corners to Windows Laptops
Surface Laptop Go was the first Windows laptop to feature rounded display corners, introducing a softer, more modern visual signature that aligned seamlessly with the evolving Windows UI. As bezels became thinner, the corner radius had to be carefully tuned for visual concentricity and harmony, ensuring the curves felt intentional and balanced within the compact frame. I collaborated closely with display engineering to achieve smooth, manufacturable geometry, and partnered with the Windows team to adapt the UI layout—ensuring no interface elements were clipped or obscured. The result was a tightly integrated hardware-software experience that quietly redefined visual expectations for Windows laptops.
Project Team
Industrial Design: Shunjiro Eguchi (Lead, concept development, design refinement)
Industrial Design: Hua Wang (Support, concept development)
CMF: Shang Yang
Final CAD: Smantha Tenneson
Human Factor: Ryan Chen
Design Quality Lead: Chirs Chung
Creative Direction: Jit Hirani