4 ms·

I think metro is very minimal and very clean. But it's also... cold. A bit too austere. The goal for an interface isn't to impress--it's to connect. Somehow, I'

I think metro is very minimal and very clean. But it's also... cold. A bit too austere. The goal for an interface isn't to impress--it's to connect. Somehow, I've never felt a sense of connection with the Metro interfaces. It feels like design borrowed from the annual report of a faceless international corporation. All design; no personality. I like simple and clean. And I like minimalism. But I also think you have to be careful with it or you'll end up with something soulless. That, I think, is what has always subtly bothered me about Metro.

ashr 15y ago
As compared to what? A traditional desktop like interface with application icons scattered over the background? As in... iOS? One would think that the live tiles with continuously updated information show more "connection" with the user.
- pbz 15y ago
  From a purely aesthetic point of view, I kind of feel the same as toddmorey. I find it too cold, too precise, too machine-like. It's like looking at a 3D rendition of a face versus an actual picture. A little bit of roundness here and there, subtle transparency, or at least shades of color could help.
- zmonkeyz 15y ago
  Amen. This is probably coming from people who think that a computer which basically resembles a thin slab of aluminum is not too "cold". It's basically minimalist which is what Apple strives for these days and does a good job with. The really interesting design choices in Metro (to me) will be apps with a lot of text ala Outlook.
crenshaw 15y ago
Metro is actually meant to be "soulless" by design. It's supposed to be distinctly digital. The idea is that your "connections" come from your actual social web, not from rendered wood textured bookshelves. At least, that's the idea.
cooldeal 15y ago
Metro can have a lot of personality. Eg. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qghf4e2n0Yc&hd=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qghf4e2n0Yc&hd=1 http://immersivenick.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/hohm-windows-phone-7-twilight.jpg http://immersivenick.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/hohm-window... http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-xbox.jpg http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-xbox.jp... http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-office.jpg http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-office.... http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-zune.jpg http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-zune.jp... Can you really say that the app above has no personality? In-depth Metro analysis from a designer if you're interested: http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/493 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/493
- rplacd 15y ago
  Hotlinking means bandwidth theft, bru.
  - pyre 15y ago
    To be fair, that's probably there mostly to prevent other sites from embedding those images rather than to prevent linking from forum posts.
lallysingh 15y ago
Indeed, it's essentially a live dashboard with a built-in program launcher. It shouldn't be the thing you connect to. It's just a browsable report of the status of things you care about, with the UI more trying to get out of the way, and provide options, than be a "thing" in your world by itself. On that note, It probably should (and perhaps will) become more subtle over time. I'd prefer it taking the same approach as classic mac os: stay in black & white so that the user's real data is in color. They won't do that, of course, but a subdued palette could really help. Of course, then the individual widgets need to really bring home their content's presentation.
Tichy 15y ago
That is why Apple is using fake wood backgrounds all over the place? I think they are very cheesy - prefer a "cold" interface, like a command line. Then again, maybe it would cheer me up to configure my shell to use Comic Sans...
- saint-loup 15y ago
  It is beyond me how Apple, most of the time, designs minimalist products and interfaces, and suddenly comes cup with really kitsch stuff (iCal, Address Book, Photobooth in fullscreen mode, Time Machine). It's like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
  - ugh 15y ago
    Because it’s different people doing it. I have long had the theory that the people at the top who could have done something against that (notably Steve Jobs) simply don’t care about that discrepancy, that’s why it can continue.

ashr 15y ago

As compared to what? A traditional desktop like interface with application icons scattered over the background? As in... iOS? One would think that the live tiles with continuously updated information show more "connection" with the user.

pbz 15y ago
From a purely aesthetic point of view, I kind of feel the same as toddmorey. I find it too cold, too precise, too machine-like. It's like looking at a 3D rendition of a face versus an actual picture. A little bit of roundness here and there, subtle transparency, or at least shades of color could help.
zmonkeyz 15y ago
Amen. This is probably coming from people who think that a computer which basically resembles a thin slab of aluminum is not too "cold". It's basically minimalist which is what Apple strives for these days and does a good job with. The really interesting design choices in Metro (to me) will be apps with a lot of text ala Outlook.

crenshaw 15y ago

Metro is actually meant to be "soulless" by design. It's supposed to be distinctly digital. The idea is that your "connections" come from your actual social web, not from rendered wood textured bookshelves. At least, that's the idea.

cooldeal 15y ago

Metro can have a lot of personality. Eg. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qghf4e2n0Yc&hd=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qghf4e2n0Yc&hd=1 http://immersivenick.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/hohm-windows-phone-7-twilight.jpg http://immersivenick.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/hohm-window... http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-xbox.jpg http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-xbox.jp... http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-office.jpg http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-office.... http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-zune.jpg http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/windows-phone-7-zune.jp... Can you really say that the app above has no personality? In-depth Metro analysis from a designer if you're interested: http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/493 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/493

rplacd 15y ago
Hotlinking means bandwidth theft, bru.
- pyre 15y ago
  To be fair, that's probably there mostly to prevent other sites from embedding those images rather than to prevent linking from forum posts.

lallysingh 15y ago

Indeed, it's essentially a live dashboard with a built-in program launcher. It shouldn't be the thing you connect to. It's just a browsable report of the status of things you care about, with the UI more trying to get out of the way, and provide options, than be a "thing" in your world by itself. On that note, It probably should (and perhaps will) become more subtle over time. I'd prefer it taking the same approach as classic mac os: stay in black & white so that the user's real data is in color. They won't do that, of course, but a subdued palette could really help. Of course, then the individual widgets need to really bring home their content's presentation.

Tichy 15y ago

That is why Apple is using fake wood backgrounds all over the place? I think they are very cheesy - prefer a "cold" interface, like a command line. Then again, maybe it would cheer me up to configure my shell to use Comic Sans...

saint-loup 15y ago
It is beyond me how Apple, most of the time, designs minimalist products and interfaces, and suddenly comes cup with really kitsch stuff (iCal, Address Book, Photobooth in fullscreen mode, Time Machine). It's like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
- ugh 15y ago
  Because it’s different people doing it. I have long had the theory that the people at the top who could have done something against that (notably Steve Jobs) simply don’t care about that discrepancy, that’s why it can continue.