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Microsoft shows off early mockups for the Windows 8 Metro UI

posted on Nov 20th 2012 by

Microsoft has been applauded for its new design language in Windows 8. The artist formerly known as Metro hasn’t always looked as beautiful as it does today. Microsoft started working on Windows 8 back in 2010, but we’ve never been able to see what it looked like in previous iterations. A member of Microsoft’s design team spoke at UX Weekly and showed off a little bit of what Windows 8 looked like as a child.

In the mockup images you can see some early designs that look familiar. We can see a Start screen with much more cluttered live tiles, and time and battery indicators next to the user name. The charms bar has a few more options like favorites and music controls. We can also see features like snap view for the first time. The aesthetics look a little different, but the same core ideas are there.

[via The Verge]


  • http://www.2girls1game.com Ashley K.

    I’m glad they polished it up and stuck with the minimalist look. Whenever I have to use my desktop that still has Windows 7 on it, I lament that I have to look at Aero.

  • Billscarnage

    For me, I’d disagree. I love Aero. You can turn it off if you don’t like it. While the Win8 design is “new” I think people will tire of it faster. This minimalist look is sooo late 1990’s and one of the main reasons Win8 looks like it does is that the eye candy is a battery hog.

  • http://www.2girls1game.com Ashley K.

    I have changed the default skin that I have on Win7 because I hate Microsoft’s version of Aero so much. I use a skin called Clear Screen Sharp and it goes a long way to making Win7 presentable, but I still prefer Win8 on my laptop.