Creating this DVD cost me $0.30 for the disc and 8 minutes of time.

There is a distinct aesthetic to this era of Microsoft design—the "Metro" or "Modern" UI. The disc likely features that stark, white silhouette of a window against a solid color background. This was the era of the "flat" design revolution, a rejection of the glossy, skeuomorphic buttons of the 2000s. It looks almost brutalist in its simplicity. It suggests that the software means business. It is not here to entertain; it is here to work.

: Under your Office 2013 product, look for Account Options and select Install from a disc .

Cut this out and tape it to the sleeve:

The object in question is a simple disc. It sits in a translucent polypropylene case, the kind that snaps shut with a satisfying, cheap plastic click. The label is printed in the austere typography of the era: Microsoft Office 2013 . Beneath the title, in smaller print, are the words that define its existence: Backup DVD .

Do not store your key only on the paper sleeve. Create a text file named PRODUCT_KEY.txt on the DVD root directory. Burn it twice.

If you have already purchased and registered Office 2013 to your Microsoft account, you can download a disc image (ISO) to burn to a DVD.