What you should know
- A former director of person expertise at Microsoft lately broke down the Begin menu on Home windows 11.
- His thread highlighted inconsistencies, complicated parts, and the way he was “shocked by the person expertise.”
- At one level, he mentioned {that a} banner advert for the Bing Wallpaper app appeared prefer it was attributable to a virus.
Microsoft’s Home windows 11 has obtained a good quantity of criticism because it was unveiled. The Begin menu was the goal of many, particularly people who appreciated Home windows 7 and Home windows 10’s variations of Begin. Now, a former Microsoft director of person expertise has weighed in on the controversial component of the corporate’s new working system.
Jensen Harris labored at Microsoft from 1998 to 2004. From December 2008 to October 2014, he “led the workforce accountable for the redesign of the software program person expertise of Floor and Home windows,” based on his LinkedIn profile (opens in new tab). Home windows 10 was launched in July 2015 however was in improvement whereas Harris was nonetheless at Microsoft.
Harris did not mince phrases when discussing the Begin menu on Home windows 11. He argued that the banner advert for the Bing Wallpaper app appears prefer it’s the results of a virus. He broke down a number of UI inconsistencies and points, similar to corners being spherical in some areas and sq. in others. His focus, nonetheless, was on the truth that the Begin menu had adverts within the first place.
“Is the quantity of $ made by this wallpaper app price cheapening the expertise folks have on this very high-touch piece of UI?” requested Harris. He highlighted that he “wasn’t even trying to find ‘wallpaper.'”
You possibly can view your complete thread by Harris by clicking on the primary tweet beneath, however we have embedded a number of the extra damning ones right here.
The Begin menu is Microsoft’s flagship person expertise. It ought to characterize the easiest UI design the corporate is able to.Immediately I looked for “chrome” in Home windows and was shocked by the person expertise. pic.twitter.com/GZq386qqzKAugust 29, 2022
Let’s begin on the prime. What’s going on with the Net 1.0 Geocities-era banner advert for a “Bing Wallpaper app”?Actually, it appears like I used to be contaminated by a virus.The textual content is misaligned and it is sitting on prime of a Home windows Vista-era background.Nevertheless it will get weirder. pic.twitter.com/XHQHfoBpRXAugust 29, 2022
The larger concern right here although: why are there banner adverts within the Begin menu?Is the quantity of $ made by this wallpaper app price cheapening the expertise folks have on this very high-touch piece of UI?It erodes belief—I wasn’t even trying to find “wallpaper.”Which brings me to:August 29, 2022
Design issues. Particulars matter.Particularly in UI as iconic because the Home windows Begin menu.I keep in mind the workforce making a particular ligature within the Segoe UI font (utilized in Home windows) to make “S” and “t” align superbly for the phrase “Begin”.That is how essential Begin was to Microsoft.August 29, 2022
Whereas Harris was essential of lots of the design decisions seen in Home windows 11, he complimented lots of the designers. He argued that the inconsistencies and points have been attributable to Microsoft prioritizing various things.
“Microsoft has many sensible designers who care deeply concerning the work they do—I labored with many who’re nonetheless there! It simply comes right down to a query of what you prioritize,” mentioned Harris. “Consumer expertise must be architected with as a lot depth as you architect your tech investments.”
