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CHAPTER 1 TAKING THE METRO WITH WINDOWS PHONE
As part of going forward, it ’ s important to look back, even if only for a moment to wave as it
disappears into the sunset. In the case of Windows Phone, you can see from Figure 1 - 2 the legacy of
Windows Mobile from Pocket PC 2003 SE, through Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.1.4, and fi nally 6.5.3.
As you can see, each has been an incremental approach with little to excite the user, save the more
touch - friendly home screen and controls in Windows Mobile 6.5.3.
FIGURE 1 - 2
What ’ s important to recognize is that although the Windows Mobile user interface appears somewhat
dated now, there are some important concepts embraced within the layouts — for example how
relevant information could easily be accessed right from the home screen, and that applications were
only a click or two away via the Start menu.
The user interface on nearly all the current - generation smartphones is geared around applications. The
underlying operating system typically handles standard information types such as e - mail, calendar,
and contacts, but it is left to individual applications to handle other types of data (e.g., updates
from your favorite social networking site need to have an application running on the device).
Unfortunately, these applications are often built in isolation and don ’ t interact with each other
or even integrate into the phone experience. In building Windows Phone, it was important for
Microsoft to build an immersive user experience, rather than a set of disjointed applications. This
needed to encompass all the features that make up Windows Phone, as well as the ability for
third - party applications to be built to integrate into the same experience.
It was decided that Windows Phone should have a fresh start and not just the new Start that you ’ ll
see when you fi rst unlock a Windows Phone. This should not just be about an ad hoc change to the
way applications look, but a new language for communicating with users. What Microsoft came
up with is what they refer to as the Metro design language, based on generations of refi nement that
have gone into the use of signposting, signaling, iconography, fonts, and layout in the transportation
industry. The name Metro was chosen to refl ect its heritage in the language used to effi ciently guide
people to their destinations.
If you examine signs used around and on buses, trains, and other forms of transportation, and at
stations, airports, and other transportation hubs, you can clearly see a set of principles that govern
them. Most of them have graphics that are instructional, yet minimal in design. Furthermore, the
signs are typically universal and feature simple icons. The use of color is signifi cant and plays an
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