Hero

img0 is the default wallpaper of Windows 10 versions 1507 to 1809 (including Windows Server versions 2016 and 2019). It depicts a blue Windows logo with light shining out of it. It was primarily designed by Bradley G. Munkowitz, while the wallpaper was produced as a large team consisting of 34 people, including the photographer Joseph Picard. It was replaced with a simpler wallpaper from version 1903 onwards (and in Windows Server 2022).

Nine other resolutions (up to 4K) of the wallpaper are stored in.

History
While Windows XP and 8 had their default wallpapers as nature photos, and Vista, 7 and 8.1 as graphic design pieces, Microsoft decided to take it one step further for 10. They hired graphic designer Bradley G. Munkowitz (best known under the alias GMUNK); him and Microsoft assembled a large team to produce the wallpaper, consisting of both external contractors and in-house Microsoft employees. The team took pieces of black cardboard and acrylic, and cut the Windows logo into them, and layered them on top of each other. A projector beamed light through a small window onto the logo, which gave the logo the illusion of depth as the light refracted from the acrylic. Smoke was also present to give the wallpaper a "dark, moody" feel.

While it is not CGI-rendered, the image is not a single untouched shot either, contrary to popular belief. Over 3000 images were captured using a 9k Phase One Camera system by photographer Joe Picard. The best shots were selected by GMUNK in conjunction with Windows Brand Team directors Ryan Vulk and Christopher Ashworth, and were combined during post production.

Later version and variants
Sign-in screen in Windows 10 versions 1507 and 1511 features a variant of the desktop wallpaper with a darker Windows logo.

A new version of the wallpaper was created for version 1903, with a lighter background as it was designed to complement light mode. GMUNK was also involved in this, and stated that it was created the same way the original wallpaper was. This is also in 1920x1200 with versions in additional resolutions included, although build 21376 replaced the main version with a 3840x2400 version, the same resolution used for Windows 11's wallpapers.

Several variants of this wallpaper exist. In 2019, Microsoft released a downloadable theme titled Pride 2019, which features colors of various pride flags superimposed into the logo. The following year, a theme called Pride 2020 Flags was released, which instead changes the background colors to those of the corresponding pride flags. Similarily, a light purple version is present as the default wallpaper for Windows 10 virtual machines hosted on the Windows 365 cloud service.

Legacy
Although the effort put into this wallpaper has been widely recognized, the wallpaper itself has received a mixed reception. It has been frequently compared to GMUNK's work in the movie Tron: Legacy, and criticized for its dystopian feel.

Credits
The following people are credited on GMUNK's website for the wallpaper:


 * Creative Director: GMUNK
 * Managing Director, Live Action: Oliver Fuselier
 * Managing Partner, Digital: Dustin Callif
 * Executive Producer: Robert Helphand
 * Head of Production: Amy DeLossa
 * Producer: Mary Church
 * Associate Producer: John Stern
 * Production Supervisor: Liz Welonek
 * Asst Production Supervisor: Shae Horton
 * Photographer: Joe Picard
 * Photo Assistant: Aaron Fee
 * DIT: Jonathan Boweback, Jordan Livingston
 * Lighting Technician: Frank Stzalkawoski
 * Swing: Mark Otewalt, Tom Cloutier
 * Art Fabricator: Don Bies
 * Asst Art Fabricator: Anna Bies, Jon Berg
 * Projectionist: James Hurlbut
 * Laser Technician: Adam Labay
 * Capture Tech: Clark Higgins
 * Craft Service: Laura Ulsh
 * Office PA: Luis Perozo
 * Production Assistant: Jose D. Oldenburg
 * Production Assistant: Kevin Wood
 * Production Assistant: Cait Wilson
 * Production Assistant: Zach Towner

The following are listed as part of the Windows Brand Team:


 * Senior Producer, Windows: Laura Foy
 * Creative Director, Windows: Chris Ashworth
 * Designer, Windows: Austin Taylor
 * Motion Designer, Windows: Ryan Lewis
 * Designer, Product: Ryan Vulk
 * Senior Director: Anne Gallucci

Chris Raykovich, who served as the wallpaper director and UI designer of Windows 10, also claims to have worked on the wallpaper with the team, but is not listed in the credits.