Jenny Lam - Designing Experiences at Microsoft | WM_IN

helveticagirl
design matters

i3x171um wrote:
Jenny, do you blog? If not, I absolutely believe you should. I for one would visit it daily. I worship what you do. We don't hear nearly enough from this side of Vista.

i3x171um -
<sigh:(> I tried to start a blog at the beginning of the year but failed miserably. Honestly, I don't know how all you people keep up with your blogs and actually get to live life offline. No offense - I love Scoble and the blogging community. Really I do. We're just so focused on fixing bugs and getting the fit and finish nailed right now, who has the time?!

You do bring up a question that several folks have been asking and I personally believe we must address it.

--jenny

TimStone

Bobinho wrote:

Which leads me to Vista. I don’t like the Vista interface. I find it bland and uninspiring. I mean it's fresh and clean but really, it’s a case of “Meet the new UI, same as the old UI” (apologies to Pete Townsend). It looks and I’m not the first to say this, something like a sanitary towel ad. It looks, ahem, girly. I am deeply disapointed that this is the final UI. What happened to the revolutionary UI designs of 2003? Where is my damn carousel interface? Where has all the cool directorware gone?

But here is the kicker; both apps are really, really ugly. This is unforgivable in an application made for designers. Please tell me the UI will be completely re-written for Vista.

OK I’m done. I’m off to play with my Mac.

First of all the GUI is basically the exact same that they showed in 2003. Very small changes have been made. So I have no idea on what you are saying here.

Secondly, Microsoft is putting out a redesigned 3D GUI and shell from scratch in Windows Vienna.

With Vienna they are throwing out the Vista interface and starting from scratch using their Microsoft Research and Development work and designing it for the next small release of windows which will probably come out 18 months later after Vista comes out.

The Mac interface is okay, but I think the Mac has been overrated when it comes to GUI, there are things they have done right and things that they have done wrong from a design perspective but to some people this doesn't matter. At the end of the day the Mac is just like anything else it has huge flaws and problems and people get used to working around them.

on

helveticagirl wrote:
I tried to start a blog at the beginning of the year but failed miserably. Honestly, I don't know how all you people keep up with your blogs and actually get to live life offline. No offense - I love Scoble and the blogging community. Really I do. We're just so focused on fixing bugs and getting the fit and finish nailed right now, who has the time?!

You do bring up a question that several folks have been asking and I personally believe we must address it.

--jenny

Blogging is fun. You can write posts daily or weekly or twice a week - when you have freetime. Or somebody else from your team. I think it would be a very good chance to promote new features of Windows Vista UX. - Probably it's not your business.
But it would be so great to read a blog where somebody explains Vista UI changes (like Jensen Harris does).

cropcircles
who needs sidebars and virtual folders anyway.

Allot of giggling going on between those two. Jenny is a classy, beautiful lady. In listening to her I talk about polishing up for the launch, I couldn't help but get excited. No, not her. Vista you guys. Come on. Anywho, I think Jenny exemplifies what I think will be the Vista experience.

Zaczek

scobleizer wrote:
LaBomba, I deleted your comment. I'm tired of seeing posts here noting female's looks. I don't see the men judged that way here. Does that really help the industry attract more smart women? I don't think so.

Scoble, just to satisfy your request and make the balance even: this guy is kind of cute: http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=159231

Zaczek

zhuo

Damn... Jenny is HOT!!!
Notice the number of people replying to this thread?

Anyway, Jenny's explaination about the usage of black in the taskbar and sidebar is really intuitive and concrete. Where did you learn design Jenny?

helveticagirl wrote:
I wanted to quickly reply to your question about the usage of black in the taskbar and sidebar. Of course color can be so subjective! but some of the benefits the design team thought of when finalizing on a dark, smokey color for periphery UI elements:

- blends with the periphery of the monitor window. Ever notice how there's a few black dead pixels around the bezel of your monitor? Dark elements seem to fade into it - which takes advantage of those dead pixels at the same time making the UI proportionally smaller. (Is really true how black is slimming? )

- for max'd windows, puts the focus on the content of the windows. (aka "swelling force") + more obvious difference between max and restored windows

- high contrast with the content area (putting more focus on users stuff over chrome)

- neutral yet professional color that works well with other elements

JAMES

kingbing

Hi Jenny. Nice video. I was just wondering, with all the comments about the wallpaper and glass and icons and stuff, if anything is being done about the default cursors in Vista? It'd be good to have something cool here too...

Cheers!
Matt

aweonc

Great video! Please interview more designers at Microsoft.

on

helveticagirl wrote:
i3x171um wrote:Jenny, do you blog? If not, I absolutely believe you should. I for one would visit it daily. I worship what you do. We don't hear nearly enough from this side of Vista
You do bring up a question that several folks have been asking and I personally believe we must address it.

I hope Jenny didn't forget it. They must address it! Smiley

http://blogs.msdn.com/winux/ is still empty.