WINDOWS 10 general application Design trend analysis

Editor's note: Tencent Boutique long Stream! Today, the rabbit will be a simple analysis of the Windows 10 design trends through the new features of the win 10 system and the published general application to see what Microsoft has to do to subvert its own bright spots >>>

As we all know, Microsoft has made a very bold change in Windows 8, in addition to the groundbreaking Metro design language, the traditional desktop and flat two modes of integration is also a major feature, but the two modes of operation in the use of the experience of the inconsistency has become Windows 8 users criticized one of the reasons, But Microsoft has been firmly ahead of the goal of a platform for integration. After exploring, Microsoft has finally demonstrated a clearer strategic direction by announcing the Windows 10 system: building a core operating system that targets all windows devices.

　　First, the new characteristics of the system

First, let's take a look at some of the system features associated with the application design:

　　Universal Applications (Windows Apps)

In the Microsoft Windows 10 Conference, the Common Application (already renamed by Universal Apps to Windows Apps) is a very high frequency noun, what is the general application? In short, in Windows 10 will truly achieve a platform-wide application with as little development as possible, seamless transition from computers, tablets, smartphones, and even Xbox One, and maintain a consistent user interface and operational experience. Unlike Metro applications on Windows 8, which are only Full-screen mode, universal applications support windowed mode in desktop mode, which means that both touch and mouse operations will be better integrated.

Common applications have the following advantages:

1. A unified UI and experience can reduce the cost of learning between different platforms

2. Significantly reduce the cost of development

3. A user base that can pull different platforms through an application

　　Adaptive User Experience (adaptive UX)

Microsoft specifically proposes the concept of adaptive user experience for Windows 10 systems, and provides a unified set of cross device adaptive controls for common applications. The visual elements and interactive experiences of this set of controls are all consistent, but for different operating scenarios and devices, such as touch screens, application pop-up controls, and so on, the user automatically uses larger area buttons when they touch, using the keyboard in the opposite way.

　　Continuum mode

The continuum model is designed specifically for mixed-form devices, such as surface, which means that when this mode is turned on, our device is free to switch between the flat state and the notebook state, depending on whether it is a touch screen and whether there is a key mouse to determine whether to enter the "flat mode." For example, a touch-enabled device unplugged the mouse button, Windows 10 prompts for "flat mode" and applies full-screen display, the entire interface is slightly enlarged for touch, and the Start menu becomes full screen. This model combines both touch-screen and mouse-type operation scenes to reduce the sense of isolation between the desktop and the plate mode. The figure is a different style for the Start menu in desktop and flat mode.

　　Second, design trend Analysis

Let's look at how the official apps on Windows 10 compare to the version on Windows 8:

Application Store (flat panel)

XBOX (flat panel)

Skype (tablet)

You can see that the application standard of Windows 10 has changed a lot with the previous style, I think we can sum up the following points:

　　Adaptive layout (responsive design) becomes a universal application core structure

In addition to the general application in desktop mode to reduce the magnification of the window changes, the future of Windows 10 device size will be varied, so the flexible and efficient adaptive layout is naturally the most consistent with the common application Cross-platform, windowed features, In the image above we can see that both the Xbox and Skype have been changed to a multiple-column layout.

　　Horizontal sliding is no longer a typical form of system browsing

We all know that one of the design languages of the Metro UI is to slide the landscape sideways, but as the screen ratio of the surface series of devices has been designed to be surface Pro 3 3:2 from the previous generation, it seems to be the message that Microsoft is passing the adjustment product direction. And now we can see that the official general application of Windows 10 in the above image has basically abandoned the entire flow of information across the slide, but only in individual categories. One of the reasons for this change is that the general application is in the Desktop mode for window mode, and when the window size becomes narrow, it is not natural for you to browse the information with the horizontal slide.

　　Explore a new navigation solution

Now that Windows 10 has decided to weaken landscape browsing, there is a need for a better form of navigation to replace the previous large-scale horizontal-slide navigation, and most general-purpose applications are beginning to attempt to use the "Hamburg Menu" (Navigation Drawer) as a unified navigation form. Although the burger menu has been widely used in websites, iOS and Android, there is a lot of controversy about ease of use (especially on phone), so it is unclear whether the burger menu will become Microsoft's final solution until the official release.

　　A more diverse design style

On Windows 8, both mobile phones and flat-panel applications are "highly unified" under the guidance of system design specifications, so that each application looks almost like a combination of large fonts + square tiles. Metro UI The design idea of removing all the decorations and presenting the information in fact is tantamount to stripping the user of the elements of emotional experience, thus making the user more aesthetic fatigue. Fortunately, in the new general application design, we can see that in addition to the Start menu, once those single Metro elements have become less and more, and line icons, centered layout, circle, split line and so on the addition of elements to make the interface more rich, can be said that the Metro UI design language has been gradually weakened, Microsoft has started to encourage and give developers greater freedom of design, and the future of Windows 10 will gradually align with the flattening of iOS and Android platforms.

　　Different equipment and operation scene need customization design

While it is theoretically possible for a developer to run a general-purpose application on all Windows platforms through a single write and a set of UI, the small size of the device interface does not equate to the effect of a large size device interface being reduced to windowing, and designers still need to target different devices and operating scenarios ( such as touch screen or mouse) to customize the design scheme. While ensuring the uniformity of application design, it is also a challenge for designers to take into account the experience of using different devices.

For different equipment characteristics, the same general-purpose application running on the phone and the difference between the tablet

Finally, according to the above trend analysis, add two small tips:

1. Developers can take advantage of this Windows 10 design style to move closer to other platforms, more easily porting apps from iOS and Android platforms to Windows 10, or optimizing the original Metro version to ensure the uniformity of branding and design.

2. Soon, with free upgrades to Windows 10, PC users will be the majority, so design for a general-purpose application should be designed with the window mode mouse experience as the benchmark to ensure full screen touch mode availability.

　　Summarize:

This time, Microsoft has again completely overturned itself, maybe we began to see the other platform from Windows 10 Shadow, perhaps the unique Metro UI is about to say goodbye to us, but from the current experience, I think that Windows 10 is certainly better, It is only a cross platform to unify the road is good to go, the future has yet to be verified. Now, with the heavy mission of changing Microsoft's Destiny, Windows 10 is about to sail and wish it.