3 ms·

It's not often you hear of Microsoft setting design or usability trends, but the Office ribbon has seen a pretty vast uptake. As a UI designer I have personally

by taitems 17y ago

It's not often you hear of Microsoft setting design or usability trends, but the Office ribbon has seen a pretty vast uptake. As a UI designer I have personally implemented it in various web apps. I'm looking forward to what Microsoft does next, honestly.

makecheck 17y ago
I know an engineer who was not only frustrated with the ribbon, but actually attributed it to Vista (i.e. to say she "didn't like Vista" when what she described was clearly a feature of Office). I suspect she was just too used to the old way (for better or for worse), but that's still valid. Maybe the ribbon isn't bad, but Microsoft should have introduced it more gradually, e.g. alongside a familiar menu bar instead of replacing the menu bar completely.
- taitems 17y ago
  I won't deny the Microsoft ribbon has a really steep learning curve, but it's valuable even if just to learn how not to design/implement a ribbon. The people that I have met that have difficulty adjusting to the ribbon (my 60 year old father, other 20 year old students etc) have either adjusted to it over time, or simply never made an effort to learn how to use it, and continue to complain about it.
jemmons 17y ago
Why is the ribbon usable? What positive effects have you seen that caused you to implement it in various apps. As a user interface designer, how is the ribbon better than the interface it replaces? I don't doubt what you say, but anecdotal claims are not very interesting -- nor do they convince me I should be awaiting Microsoft's next innovation with baited breath, if that's your intent.
- fatdog789 17y ago
  It's easier to use -- all the buttons visible at any given time are related in some way, so it's easier to find what you're looking for (or conversely, to tell if what you're looking for is not currently visible. It's more amendable to touch-based interfaces. Bigger buttons = more area to click.

by taitems 17y ago

makecheck 17y ago

I know an engineer who was not only frustrated with the ribbon, but actually attributed it to Vista (i.e. to say she "didn't like Vista" when what she described was clearly a feature of Office). I suspect she was just too used to the old way (for better or for worse), but that's still valid. Maybe the ribbon isn't bad, but Microsoft should have introduced it more gradually, e.g. alongside a familiar menu bar instead of replacing the menu bar completely.

taitems 17y ago
I won't deny the Microsoft ribbon has a really steep learning curve, but it's valuable even if just to learn how not to design/implement a ribbon. The people that I have met that have difficulty adjusting to the ribbon (my 60 year old father, other 20 year old students etc) have either adjusted to it over time, or simply never made an effort to learn how to use it, and continue to complain about it.

jemmons 17y ago

Why is the ribbon usable? What positive effects have you seen that caused you to implement it in various apps. As a user interface designer, how is the ribbon better than the interface it replaces? I don't doubt what you say, but anecdotal claims are not very interesting -- nor do they convince me I should be awaiting Microsoft's next innovation with baited breath, if that's your intent.

fatdog789 17y ago
It's easier to use -- all the buttons visible at any given time are related in some way, so it's easier to find what you're looking for (or conversely, to tell if what you're looking for is not currently visible. It's more amendable to touch-based interfaces. Bigger buttons = more area to click.