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Saturday, January 23, 2016
Friday, April 3, 2015
Yet another app concept.
Here are some concepts for Windows 10 apps that I think address some of the common issues I perceive with Win10 thus far. Enjoy!
Click on pictures to enlarge.
Click on pictures to enlarge.
Spartan
I think that the current Spartan build looks great; however, there is almost too much whitespace. I feel that a lot of the current elements can be combined to one bar as seen above (similar to IE now). Also, I think it'd be a good idea to combine relevant tabs (Facebook tabs, for instance. Or pages "opened in a new tab").
File Explorer:
I thought that the ribbons in Win8 were cool at first, but I began to realize that I never really used them. I'd much prefer the Win7/Vista way where relative options appear on the options bar as they become relevant (when I select a picture or folder for instance). I feel that these buttons would be easier for touch.
OneNote:
I love the current OneNote, but I think that a few improvements can be made. This adopts a similar interface to Spartan while also keeping touch with the desktop version of OneNote. I love the radial menu in OneNote and I'd like it to be implemented in more of the apps. Perhaps it could only be present on touch interfaces, while the menu bar would be available on desktop computers.
What do you think?
Friday, October 24, 2014
Windows 10 Design Concept
Yet again I have made another design for you to judge. I think this one looks a bit better. I drew inspiration from the image leaked previously (below) and also from OSX (the shadows and the navigation pane because it's probably the clearest implementation of a navigation pane I've seen thus far in an OS).
At first I didn't think I'd like having no taskbar, but the buttons retain the rectangular shape so it's almost as if the taskbar is still present. The task view has been moved to the right next to the notifications button.
Notice that there is a TABS button in File Explorer (circle to the right). I understand that a lot of people want this and I think it would be a cool feature to have. It would work similar to how metro Internet Explorer displays tabs, but you would be able to click and drag them into their own windows if you wanted to.
Also notice that I have moved the ellipses (...) from the top left of metro windows to a button in line with the minimize, maximize, and close buttons. I think this makes sense design-wise and because it should be implemented in every app. This button would then give users access to different charms and advanced options as the developer wishes. The hamburger menu button simply shows and hides the navigation pane.
(Click to enlarge)
What do you think?
At first I didn't think I'd like having no taskbar, but the buttons retain the rectangular shape so it's almost as if the taskbar is still present. The task view has been moved to the right next to the notifications button.
Notice that there is a TABS button in File Explorer (circle to the right). I understand that a lot of people want this and I think it would be a cool feature to have. It would work similar to how metro Internet Explorer displays tabs, but you would be able to click and drag them into their own windows if you wanted to.
Also notice that I have moved the ellipses (...) from the top left of metro windows to a button in line with the minimize, maximize, and close buttons. I think this makes sense design-wise and because it should be implemented in every app. This button would then give users access to different charms and advanced options as the developer wishes. The hamburger menu button simply shows and hides the navigation pane.
(Click to enlarge)
What do you think?
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
"Windows" [updated concept]
Hello Tribe!
I've taken in several of your ideas and considerations into this updated version of my last concept. Mainly, I've simplified the taskbar quite a bit and slimmed down some of the lines. (Old concept here.) I've decided to keep a view of all the desktops that you may have open in a single taskbar. By removing the icon backgrounds and thinning down some of the old lines, I have achieved this. (I apologize in advance for the shadowing behind the OneDrive app. Publisher does not have good shadow effects. There was no immediate way to make them look better.)
The New Windows
Click to enlarge.
Notes from before:
Notice in the Taskbar how after the first 5 apps there is a white bar. This divider between the groups of apps represents dividers between desktops. I really hope they keep all apps visible in the taskbar and make only a small distinction between the desktops like this (I feel like it would be less like playing "where's my app?"). Obviously, the background should change with each desktop. You could then zoom out to see a summary of all your desktops and running apps by double clicking the "Show Desktop" button in the lower right corner.
Also notice the last app section on the taskbar that has the IE, File Explorer, Zune (wishful thinking), phone, and messaging apps. This is your phone (or other device) with Microsoft apps synced. I feel as if this is the best implementation of "continuity" or "handoffs"- like features in any operating system. Also, I've placed a couple of status symbols here that indicate the battery life and connectivity of your device. Clicking these can put your device (phone, tablet, etc.) into certain modes, such as if you click the battery, you could put your phone on power saver or clicking the connectivity button could turn on hotspots. This continuity-like feature would be great for other devices that you have running under your Microsoft ID including phones and other computers (or Xbox for that matter).
Ultimately, clicking the "+" at the end adds a new desktop with a couple of app icons. Apps/programs can be moved easily from one desktop to another by clicking and dragging the icon of the app from one desktop divider to another.
Thanks and let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is appreciated.
I've taken in several of your ideas and considerations into this updated version of my last concept. Mainly, I've simplified the taskbar quite a bit and slimmed down some of the lines. (Old concept here.) I've decided to keep a view of all the desktops that you may have open in a single taskbar. By removing the icon backgrounds and thinning down some of the old lines, I have achieved this. (I apologize in advance for the shadowing behind the OneDrive app. Publisher does not have good shadow effects. There was no immediate way to make them look better.)
The New Windows
Click to enlarge.
Notes from before:
Notice in the Taskbar how after the first 5 apps there is a white bar. This divider between the groups of apps represents dividers between desktops. I really hope they keep all apps visible in the taskbar and make only a small distinction between the desktops like this (I feel like it would be less like playing "where's my app?"). Obviously, the background should change with each desktop. You could then zoom out to see a summary of all your desktops and running apps by double clicking the "Show Desktop" button in the lower right corner.
Also notice the last app section on the taskbar that has the IE, File Explorer, Zune (wishful thinking), phone, and messaging apps. This is your phone (or other device) with Microsoft apps synced. I feel as if this is the best implementation of "continuity" or "handoffs"- like features in any operating system. Also, I've placed a couple of status symbols here that indicate the battery life and connectivity of your device. Clicking these can put your device (phone, tablet, etc.) into certain modes, such as if you click the battery, you could put your phone on power saver or clicking the connectivity button could turn on hotspots. This continuity-like feature would be great for other devices that you have running under your Microsoft ID including phones and other computers (or Xbox for that matter).
Ultimately, clicking the "+" at the end adds a new desktop with a couple of app icons. Apps/programs can be moved easily from one desktop to another by clicking and dragging the icon of the app from one desktop divider to another.
Thanks and let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is appreciated.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
My Threshold Preview
I've been planning this concept for a while, but haven't had the time to put it together. So, here is a preliminary image to show what I've been working on. There is a little refinement that needs to be done, but overall this captures my thoughts for Threshold.
Notice in the Taskbar how after the first 5 apps there is a white bar. This divider between the groups of apps represents dividers between desktops. I really hope they keep all apps visible in the taskbar and make only a small distinction between the desktops like this (I feel like it would be less like playing "where's my app?"). You could then zoom out to see a summary of all your desktops and running apps by double clicking the "Show Desktop" button in the lower right corner.
Also notice the last app section on the taskbar that has the IE, File Explorer, Zune (wishful thinking), phone, and messaging apps. This is your phone with Microsoft apps synced. I feel as if this is the best implementation of "continuity" or "handoffs"- like features in any operating system. I forgot to place it, but before the last divider there should be a battery and connectivity symbol that will display some brief information about your device. This continuity-like feature would be great for other devices that you have running under your Microsoft ID including phones and other computers (or Xbox for that matter).
Dear Microsoft,
Please do not eliminate the charms. Yes, I believe they were poorly received on the desktop and in general, but they are a great way to access information in the same way across every single app. I understand the need to remove the charms bar for mouse/keyboard users, but perhaps you could simply re-implement them in a different area. I think you should keep it the same for tablet users.
In a future post I will give a little more detail as to how I would like to see charms uniformly implemented, but briefly it'll just say that it would be a great idea to have them in the jumplists on the taskbar.
Notice in the Taskbar how after the first 5 apps there is a white bar. This divider between the groups of apps represents dividers between desktops. I really hope they keep all apps visible in the taskbar and make only a small distinction between the desktops like this (I feel like it would be less like playing "where's my app?"). You could then zoom out to see a summary of all your desktops and running apps by double clicking the "Show Desktop" button in the lower right corner.
Also notice the last app section on the taskbar that has the IE, File Explorer, Zune (wishful thinking), phone, and messaging apps. This is your phone with Microsoft apps synced. I feel as if this is the best implementation of "continuity" or "handoffs"- like features in any operating system. I forgot to place it, but before the last divider there should be a battery and connectivity symbol that will display some brief information about your device. This continuity-like feature would be great for other devices that you have running under your Microsoft ID including phones and other computers (or Xbox for that matter).
Dear Microsoft,
Please do not eliminate the charms. Yes, I believe they were poorly received on the desktop and in general, but they are a great way to access information in the same way across every single app. I understand the need to remove the charms bar for mouse/keyboard users, but perhaps you could simply re-implement them in a different area. I think you should keep it the same for tablet users.
In a future post I will give a little more detail as to how I would like to see charms uniformly implemented, but briefly it'll just say that it would be a great idea to have them in the jumplists on the taskbar.
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