Windows Phone 8 & The Start Screen [My Take]

[vaultboy21]

My take on the newly announced WP8 (and WP7.8) Start Screen. Tried to take a more in-depth look at it and argue for exactly what I like, don't like, and why. Note: I originally wrote this as a comment on the official WP UserVoice page and also posted this on The Verge as well, thought I'd throw it up here to discuss with my fellow WPCentralists (<- you like that?).

Love the new mini-tiles, hate the removal of the gap and stretching-out of the existing tiles. The start screen has become considerably more cluttered and has lost much of its charm. And it?s not the addition of mini-tiles, but the lack of whitespace that makes the new start screen look so noisy now; and it?s so sad to see it, in that it?s in such sharp contract to the cleanliness and beautiful design aesthetics of WP7.

I?ve had a WP for over a year now (as long as Verizon has let me, but I?ve been an enthusiast since first sight), and every time I pull it out, till this day, I?m left with a sense of wonder just looking at the level of detail and thought that went into designing the UI, especially the start screen. Just navigating and sliding around is so enjoyable and gives such a great feeling of relaxation and calmness that I?ve never witnessed interacting with any other interface (including the previews of W8; though it has its own charm as well).

I believe I understand why the gap was removed and why the existing tiles were scaled-up to stretch the screen. This is necessary to make the new mini-tiles large enough to display notifications/counters (missed calls, # new emails, etc?). But it has completely ruined one of WP?s greatest assets, its design. Again, I?d say the mini-tiles look great, but look at the traditional tiles now? The square tiles have become comically large for their purpose (look at all the stock apps? tiles like phone/email/messages, having them as full-sized squares makes them look bare and stale, and adds absolutely no value to me as a user, they just take up more space). As for the double-wide tiles, I am glad to see greater flexibility in their use, but increasing them in size doesn?t add value here. It?s great that all apps? tiles can now be expanded, but that could have been accomplished just fine in the existing layout (as the pictures hub and calendar are).

I really believe the ideal solution would have been to keep the current configuration (left-aligned columns of tiles, with the gap and arrow) but just allow for smaller mini-tiles (but with no notification capabilities). I think this concept highlights it well: http://i.imgur.com/tIAaw.png. In this case you get the added benefits of having small tiles, which if my math is correct, would come-out to roughly the size of the tiles used in the app list, making for a nice consistency.

I know it?s probably too late in the design process to see this come about but I really hope Microsoft is listening to feedback and will at least allow for an option to reintroduce the gap (even if it means I don?t get mini-tiles)...

I really can?t say why this is bugging me so much, but it is. As a hardcore WP enthusiast since the very beginning, and someone who has loved watching the platform grow and expand (and fully understands the needs of it to do so), for the first time, I?ve been left with an uneasy feeling about the platform and the decisions being made.

So these are my thoughts on the issue. I've tried to approach things in a level-headed way and try to understand the rationale behind the changes. Would love to hear what others have to say in this regard.


Thanks.


p.s. Please vote on the official Windows Phone UserVoice page for at least an OPTION to maintain the current Start Screen configuration here

 

[theefman]

WP's design is more than the start screen, it covers the panoramas, typography, pivots, and a focus on information and not chrome. I still see all those principles in WP8, and removing the black space doesnt change the philosophy of Metro.

 

[vp710]

For anyone wanting to "test" the new start screen on their device: save the image below, open it and switch back and forth between your current start screen and the still image of the new one, pressing the Windows key and the back key repeatedly.

Personally, I think this new start screen will be an improvement.

And if you really want the gutter back, you can always do this (sorry about the poor photoshop skills)

Now, no reason to complain anymore. :straight:

 

[theefman]

For anyone wanting to "test" the new start screen on their device: save the image below, open it and switch back and forth between your current start screen and the still image of the new one, pressing the Windows key and the back key repeatedly.

Click to view quoted image


Personally, I think this new start screen will be an improvement.

Tried it and yep, you really feel your whole screen is alive. Definitely better for me.

 

[based_graham]

What about for people with poor eye sight?

The bigger the tiles the easier to read

A lot of older folks seriously have a hard time reading content on a phone especially the iPhone. When I switched them to Windows Phone everything is bigger everything is bolder.

Just take that into consideration.

Regards

Based_Graham@twitter

 

[selfcreation]

What about for people with poor eye sight?

The bigger the tiles the easier to read

A lot of older folks seriously have a hard time reading content on a phone especially the iPhone. When I switched them to Windows Phone everything is bigger everything is bolder.

Just take that into consideration.

Regards

Based_Graham@twitter

I was just thinking that looking at the picture .. not to mention people with BIG fingers!!!

 

[based_graham]

I was just thinking that looking at the picture .. not to mention people with BIG fingers!!!

Also remember new resolutions

Regards,

based_graham@twitter

 

[Jeanclaudebaktiste]

WP's design is more than the start screen, it covers the panoramas, typography, pivots, and a focus on information and not chrome. I still see all those principles in WP8, and removing the black space doesnt change the philosophy of Metro.

it does massively. i fear this is a first step of destroing the beauty of metro. everything needs whitespace: photographies, your living room , etc. whitespace is no waste of space, it is a key part of design. the beauty of metro letzs me change from androis to wp. now i am very sad. because the wp screen is more cluttered as the android or ios screen. now one at apple would have the idea to bring littel icons between the large ones just to no waste space.

the only point is that on windows phone it was decentered.

i like the small icons as well but they dont need to remove the gutter for that.

here my solution:

Directupload.net - 5dvg94ag.jpg

here you can vote fpr nice design:

Add setting to enable the "gutter" and app arrow in WP 7.8/8

 

[Jeanclaudebaktiste]

nooooo!

For anyone wanting to "test" the new start screen on their device: save the image below, open it and switch back and forth between your current start screen and the still image of the new one, pressing the Windows key and the back key repeatedly.

Click to view quoted image


Personally, I think this new start screen will be an improvement.

And if you really want the gutter back, you can always do this (sorry about the poor photoshop skills)

Click to view quoted image


Now, no reason to complain anymore. :straight:

for _me_ the small icons are useless. i have the small list on the right screen. i can start an app with tellme. i dont need the messed screen.

Directupload.net - 5dvg94ag.jpg

this is my solution for that.

in my solution the small tiles are even bigger than the ones in the app list.

on the news windows phone screen there is no air to breathe. in fact ios has more whitespace than windows phone (between icons) android has more whitespace.

only the new startscreen of w8 looks now like a womans desktop and with al the blinking mini tiles you will have a problem.

good design is always a game between used and unused space.

and i dont get the idea, because w8 has whitespace in similar style and asymetric too.

 

[AngryNil]

removing the black space doesnt change the philosophy of Metro.

As a huge proponent of Metro, I see this move going directly against the simplicity and visual balance that makes differentiates good Metro design and bad Metro design. Instead of making broad, sweeping statements, how about you address the problem at hand? Get off the moral high horse and argue the point to the death - what could you stand to lose?

in my solution the small tiles are even bigger than the ones in the app list.

Your mock up is freaking amazing and you need to cross-post it on every single article arguing this point. I think it's extremely telling that your mock up is far better done than the contrasting "debunkerings" of the gutter's usefulness - people not worried about visual balance trying to defend Microsoft versus someone who respects Metro and isn't afraid to stand up to its creator (Microsoft) about it.

The bigger the tiles the easier to read

It is possible to add an option instead of removing a feature completely. It is possible to add an option instead of removing a feature completely. It is possible to add an option instead of removing a feature completely. It is possible to add an option instead of removing a feature completely. It is possible to add an option instead of removing a feature completely. It is possible to add an option instead of removing a feature completely.

 

[Winterfang]

For anyone wanting to "test" the new start screen on their device: save the image below, open it and switch back and forth between your current start screen and the still image of the new one, pressing the Windows key and the back key repeatedly.

Click to view quoted image


Personally, I think this new start screen will be an improvement.

And if you really want the gutter back, you can always do this (sorry about the poor photoshop skills)

Click to view quoted image


Now, no reason to complain anymore. :straight:

Jesus Christ! the amount of wasted space on my current start screen is downright illogical. I want new screen now.

 

[tucana]

I'm not sure about the new tile sizes, I think they will take away slightly from the great usability of Windows Phone, while also looking more cluttered. The new medium tiles and large tiles are quite tall, especially considering larger screen sizes (4.7"+) becoming more common. Also the smaller tiles just remind me of an iPhone icon grid, unimaginative, ugly and no room for live tile info.

I think they should have designed the screen with a three tiles across instead of four, which I believe is a much more balanced look with medium and large tiles being wider options.

Having three tiles across would also maintain the differentiation from iOS and Android, and tie in better with Windows 8, I think anyway.

 

[Winterfang]

I don't like that idea. Now that you can use the whole screen, the regular and big tiles are even larger and the new small tiles are bigger than regular icons while also being live.

Its genius, ugly but genius.

 

[theefman]

As a huge proponent of Metro, I see this move going directly against the simplicity and visual balance that makes differentiates good Metro design and bad Metro design. Instead of making broad, sweeping statements, how about you address the problem at hand? Get off the moral high horse and argue the point to the death - what could you stand to lose?

.

Get over yourself, Mr Metro design. The OP made a statement, I gave my view which happens to be different, how is that being on a high horse? And if you think only the start screen embodies metro then it's obvious you don't even know what its about. Otherwise all WP apps would look like ios or android apps and everyone would be happy with it, but that's not the reality, is it? And I guess since neither Windows 8 nor the Xbox have a "gutter" but have their live tiles centered on the screen they can not be said to have the Metro UI, right? :straight:

 

[AngryNil]

Get over yourself, Mr Metro design. The OP made a statement, I gave my view which happens to be different, how is that being on a high horse? And if you think only the start screen embodies metro then it's obvious you don't even know what its about. Otherwise all WP apps would look like ios or android apps and everyone would be happy with it, but that's not the reality, is it? And I guess since neither Windows 8 nor the Xbox have a "gutter" but have their live tiles centered on the screen they can not be said to have the Metro UI, right? :straight:

"Removing the black space doesnt change the philosophy of Metro" is a definitive statement. I am referring to that statement, coupled with the audacity of responding to a long, thought-out viewpoint with something that was borderline irrelevant, yet portrayed as factually sound. Your attitude in your opening sentence here simply cements my view of you.

I never said the start screen embodies Metro. A design language is nothing if it's only used in certain places - you end up with a crapshoot like Android. But this is beside the argument - the new home screen is cluttered design, period. It doesn't matter if it's Metro, Holo or otherwise; no other home screen has such a ridiculously high amount of screen estate dedicated to the content.

I emphasised two important points which differentiates good Metro design and bad Metro design - visual balance and simplicity. You'll see plenty of ugly apps in the Marketplace which are Metro-styled, and why are they ugly? Most will have a bad layout, or have too many things on screen at once.

Don't try and draw parallels with this situation - in general, all good implementations of Metro have a large amount of white space to balance things out. Both Xbox and Windows 8 have generous spacing on the top and bottom. There's a reason why the Windows 8 start screen isn't just all tiles. Why is there so much space at the top dedicated just to the user picture & name, and the tile groups?

 

[blehblehbleh]

^I don't know buddy. I just watched the first tutorial video that summarized the principles of Metro Design and the new Start screen still falls under the principles of Light and Simple and Content Not Chrome. I get your arguments, but you're basically arguing on a hierarchy for those principles when, so far, I haven't seen MS state explicitly there is a hierarchy to the Metro design principles.

To that end it does still fall within Metro principles, and a good comparative example that I can think of that's close enough is Albums under the Pictures Hub. If you notice all those tiles take up the entire space. Sure there's the header at the top, but if you're complaining about the entire width of the screen being taken up by content, the Albums screen is no different. Or do you not like that?

I think what's throwing you and others off are the smaller tiles being placed with the other sizes, and I do understand that it can make the screen busy. Yet that's where the new personable aspect comes into play. I'd think too that out of the box the Start screen wouldn't look busy but more like the Albums screen minus the header

 

[AngryNil]

blehblehbleh, very interesting post that got me thinking. Thanks a bunch for the albums example - provides a way for me to easily compare and consolidate my thoughts. I'm still weighing up the arguments you put forth, but here is my initial response:

The new start screen is very visually impacting; it doesn't have a "light and simple" feel. Albums in the Pictures Hub look fine but not beautiful; I think what many users (just check out the comments on UserVoice) found was that the WP7 home screen was captivating and the gutter in fact garnered an emotional response. The new start screen is more functionality, but I don't see anyone getting emotionally attached to it. It does the job better, but Windows Phone has never been about sacrificing design for functionality.

I'm not directly arguing for the gutter, I'm just saying it's what Microsoft came up with and to the best of my knowledge, probably the best way to balance the start screen out visually. By having a vertical margin, the tiles get smaller but you subsequently see more of them vertically. The album view does actually partially offset the heavy impacting tiles with the header, but this is not a practical implementation for a home screen. It also really strikes me how few tiles are shown in the album view; I'm definitely going for a 720p device for the 16:9.

Another point to consider is pivot versus panorama. In the pivot layout, it is more commonplace to fill the entire screen with content - this is because when you swipe, the current screen flies out before the new pivot flies in. The albums view uses pivot, so it makes more sense for it to be full-width. However, you can compare with panorama, which I believe is the more artsy and beautiful. With a panorama layout, the content is essentially static, fixed in place - when you swipe, the phone acts as if it's just a long panorama you're swiping through. All content is already there, and as such you need spacing to break up the separate screens. You'll be hard pressed to find a panorama example which doesn't have adequate spacing.

While I recognise the start screen is strictly neither, I think it falls closer on the side of panorama. This is because there is no fly-in / fly-out when you swipe across to the app list - it's one big canvas you're navigating around. As such, I find it suitable to have that vertical offset on the start screen by the principle of common panoramic design.

I'm actually fine with the small tiles, as I've seen many shots where they are simply organised in a 2x2 arrangement, in place of a medium tile. Even with a more conventional layout, I find the mock ups with the gutter re-added far better than the tiles spanning across the entire display.

 

[vp710]

irlju, even though I like the new start screen, I think you're making some good points.

 

[blehblehbleh]

blehblehbleh, very interesting post that got me thinking. Thanks a bunch for the albums example - provides a way for me to easily compare and consolidate my thoughts. I'm still weighing up the arguments you put forth, but here is my initial response:

No problem, it's good to flush these things out in our minds.

The new start screen is very visually impacting; it doesn't have a "light and simple" feel. Albums in the Pictures Hub look fine but not beautiful; I think what many users (just check out the comments on UserVoice) found was that the WP7 home screen was captivating and the gutter in fact garnered an emotional response. The new start screen is more functionality, but I don't see anyone getting emotionally attached to it. It does the job better, but Windows Phone has never been about sacrificing design for functionality.

I don't disagree that the new start screen can be very visually impacting. Though the "light and simple" I might disagree. On the one hand, the design tutorial video does say there should be a healthy balance of white space and the new start screen can definitely take away that healthy balance. Yet, at the same time the video does mention that the principles are "guiding principles," and as a result they never really say how strict or how lax they should be.

Considering that the Start screen now has three tile sizes, can we really say that it contravenes these design principles? I'm not sure if there's a clear answer and no doubt the only objective answer would come from MS itself. Until then it seems like it's a subjective test.

Now I'm not saying the new Start screen is better, but I'm just presenting a point for further consideration.

I'm not directly arguing for the gutter, I'm just saying it's what Microsoft came up with and to the best of my knowledge, probably the best way to balance the start screen out visually. By having a vertical margin, the tiles get smaller but you subsequently see more of them vertically. The album view does actually partially offset the heavy impacting tiles with the header, but this is not a practical implementation for a home screen. It also really strikes me how few tiles are shown in the album view; I'm definitely going for a 720p device for the 16:9.

Totally understand and I do see how it focuses your eyes on the content of the live tiles, and again also agree with your comments regarding the album view.

Another point to consider is pivot versus panorama. In the pivot layout, it is more commonplace to fill the entire screen with content - this is because when you swipe, the current screen flies out before the new pivot flies in. The albums view uses pivot, so it makes more sense for it to be full-width. However, you can compare with panorama, which I believe is the more artsy and beautiful. With a panorama layout, the content is essentially static, fixed in place - when you swipe, the phone acts as if it's just a long panorama you're swiping through. All content is already there, and as such you need spacing to break up the separate screens. You'll be hard pressed to find a panorama example which doesn't have adequate spacing.

While I recognise the start screen is strictly neither, I think it falls closer on the side of panorama. This is because there is no fly-in / fly-out when you swipe across to the app list - it's one big canvas you're navigating around. As such, I find it suitable to have that vertical offset on the start screen by the principle of common panoramic design.

Hmm, well first we have to narrow down whether the Start screen encompasses the App list. I've seen people refer to each as separate.

If one were unifying the two, then I think it falls strictly in its own unique state because it occupies both, though I see your point. I mean when you tap a live tile or an app the Start screen pivots. In that sense I don't think it'd be entirely wrong to take the full width of space just like the Album view, despite the possibility of being busy. However the reverse is true.

Assuming that users were very vocal about the number of live tiles they could pin, scrolling issues, and visible information then MS had to come up with a solution. Unless they show the ability to make your own hub, this leaves the solution of the three tile sizes. It's a definitely a compromise but at least it's one that I think gives the ideal solution to satisfy at least most people--punt the choice to the user because those were the people that were vocal. Despite this, the "test" I think would be subjective because of the unique nature of both the Start screen and App list and again it probably should fall towards the user to make the decision because they have to live with it not MS.


Now if one were to consider the Start screen and App list separate then, the Start screen works as a pivot like you described above because of the nature the live tiles launch. In that case, it's arguably okay for the tiles to take up the full width.

Of course this whole discussion really only matters if you really want to work out some explicit rules of the design philosophy of Metro, but it sounds like and it would make sense that MS left the principles fairly broad.

I'm actually fine with the small tiles, as I've seen many shots where they are simply organised in a 2x2 arrangement, in place of a medium tile. Even with a more conventional layout, I find the mock ups with the gutter re-added far better than the tiles spanning across the entire display.

Noted.

 

[cedarlog]

i think on windows phone 7 Microsoft focused on Design more than features
on this release Microsoft putting their efforts on features more than design to fill the empty features space on developer event we only saw an early version of the start screen i do think the final product going to be more than great