Wouldn't it be cool if...

[Rem97]

Wait, so you guys with Lumias (15:9 displays) don't have 7 rows. That must be annoying having half a row at the bottom.

 

[MyNL822]

So what would happen to the notifications when they come in? Wouldn't they then block the top row of tiles?

If you didn't know this, you can swipe a notification off the screen, so if it blocks your top tiles just swipe it off the screen. I am not sure if you can swipe it left off the screen, but i always swipe right. it is a feature i had wished ios had, and if i am busy i dont have to have notifications blocking my view.

 

[jmerrey]

I agree, I'd like the tiles to be near the top as well. As for the toast, I would like it to "push" the tiles down, and then pull them back up when it's dismissed, or times out. Same on the lock screen. How cool would it be if the lock screen image slid down when you accessed the volume or media controls. It's nice how the lock screen shows the artist picture when playing music, but 1/4 of the picture is covered up by the media controls and volume bar. The time and other items would stay where they are, just the image would slide. I know it's purely subjective, and my opinion, but I find this to be sloppy:

 

[Chris Sandiford]

No, the top header gives some "breathing space" for the layout. All the way to the top looks too cramped.
That's why we have headers, footers and margins in documents.

Please don't pursue a design career :wink:

But I would like some transparency in the notifications/now playing block.

 

[MyNL822]

No, the top header gives some "breathing space" for the layout. All the way to the top looks too cramped.
That's why we have headers, footers and margins in documents.

Please don't pursue a design career :wink:

But I would like some transparency in the notifications/now playing block.

Design is how people perceive the idea. It may not look good to you, but it looks great to the rest of us. Even in every picture of the screen of a windows phone it makes it scroll up to avoid seeing the gap. Look at your own signature, and i know design wasn't to big in the years of your phones in the signature, but it appears you shouldn't talk about design because you have only recently moved to a good designed phone. I almost puked looking at your phones designs before 2009. It is not an offense to you, but im just saying design wasnt as important back then.
Did you dislike flip phones or something?

 

[spaulagain]

So what would happen to the notifications when they come in? Wouldn't they then block the top row of tiles?

Exactly, I don't know why people are so obsessed with pushing the tiles up a few pixels. You aren't going to see enough below to make it worth it.

That black space is called "white space." It gives the grid of tiles some breathing room especially when the info bar is pulled down. I imagine it is also carefully sized such that the bottom tiles of the screen are cropped a little bit. That does two things, it gives the hint that more tiles are below, it also breaks the tension aesthetically.

In typography and Swiss style design their are rules and best practices that have a huge impact on the aesthetic of the design. Windows Phone is built on a very different design philosophy than traditional computer UIs. Therefore there are going to be different aesthetic practices. One of which is not forcing content to be confined by the screen space and arranging everything in tight restrained spaces. Instead, the content actually breaks the edge of the screen. In addition without chrome effects to designate areas of content, visual hierarchy and white space create sections of content. For some that space may seem like a "waste of space." But its actually verrrry important, especially in the world of flat design.

 

[WPmunkey]

I agree, I'd like the tiles to be near the top as well. As for the toast, I would like it to "push" the tiles down, and then pull them back up when it's dismissed, or times out. Same on the lock screen. How cool would it be if the lock screen image slid down when you accessed the volume or media controls. It's nice how the lock screen shows the artist picture when playing music, but 1/4 of the picture is covered up by the media controls and volume bar. The time and other items would stay where they are, just the image would slide. I know it's purely subjective, and my opinion, but I find this to be sloppy:

View attachment 43272

That's the ticket! It could shift or push the tiles down when a notification comes in or if you are on a call.

I'm not on the whole 'breathing room' aspect. Maybe it is because there was way too much space in wp7 home screen. I still have nightmares about it.

 

[Chris Sandiford]

You almost puked..

I haven't just moved to a good designed phone, all of them were designed well but limited around the technology of the day.
But I stand by what I said about margins around the screen being equivalent to margins on a document - aesthetically appealing.

The "design career" statement was a throwaway you seem to have taken to heart on behalf of the OP :smile:

And yes I disliked flip phones. Increasing a phone's volume (spatial, not audio) to use it didn't appeal to me in the slightest.

 

[AndyCalling]

I already have a black border around my phone. Why does the OS feel that's not enough? Surely Nokia ought to have thought if that and made the phone taller with even bigger black borders if it is necessary for design purposes? Notifications should just push down. WP is all about tiles, not negative space. Let's have more space made useful for tiles please. Functionality first.

 

[Jason Drum]

That does two things, it gives the hint that more tiles are below, it also breaks the tension aesthetically.

Bingo.