Following its monumental Build 2015 keynote earlier today, Microsoft has released a new blog post, penned by Operating Systems Group Design lead Albert Shum, going over some of the design decisions in Windows 10 for phones—even addressing the oh-so-controversial Hamburger menu.
Overall, the blog post touts Microsoft's adaptive approach to UI design in Windows 10. On the topic of that Hamburger menu, Shum points out that the menu works well as a "home" for an app but is less effective when it is used without an explicit purpose. However, this is where the adaptive design of Windows 10 comes in:
"With our universal apps and adaptive UX we have an approach to design that lets developers build one app, but still tailor the UX to each device when it makes sense. We can use a hamburger icon without pivots on a PC version of the app for better keyboard and mouse navigation and then customize the same app to have pivots with swipe control for better one-hand-use on mobile. We're making it possible for an app to have both hamburger and pivot controls—but to display the right control at the right time on the right device."
Shum also touches on another sore point with Insider users: the lack of commands at the bottom of the screen in Outlook Mail and Calendar for phones. The good news is they're not going away:
We're happy to let you know we're not moving away from that pattern—the builds you've seen have an incomplete implementation of the "command bar" from Office and in the coming weeks you'll see most of the commands back in a familiar-but-updated control at the bottom.
Similarly, Microsoft is listening to feedback about the placement of the address bar in the Edge browser (previously "Project Spartan"), and while they don't have anything to share yet, Shum says they are exploring different design options.
Here's a list of some of the other design decisions and upcoming changes Shum touches on in the post as well:
- Photos: Menu icon in the PC app and pivots for phone
- Calendar: Easier discovery for mini-month. Increased number of weeks shown in mini-month on larger devices. Week view in landscape.
- Mail: Unified inbox and Multi-Select coming in future updates.
Overall, the full blog post is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the design decisions going into Windows 10, and we recommend checking it out in full.
Our own Daniel Rubino is heading into a Build sessions dedicated to this topic of Windows 10 design, so stay tuned for more on this hot top!
Source: Microsoft
