Microsoft is working on an "open design" philosophy, but much remains to be done at OnMSFT.com

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Since Microsoft launched the first version of Windows 10 in 2015, we have seen the desktop operating system evolve significantly after Microsoft has adopted a much faster release cycle. It's hard to deny the fact that Windows 10 is probably the best version of Windows to date, but from a design point of view, we'd say we still have mixed feelings.

In a way, it would seem that Microsoft has not yet managed to recreate the same magic as Windows Phone, a mobile operating system that did not look like anything else on the market at the time. Unfortunately, if Windows Phone 7/8 / 8.1 featured Metro's beautiful user interface with its smooth, flowing animations, Windows 10 Mobile and its disjointed design looked like a big step backwards. The same can be said of Windows 10, because many of the concept images we saw during the first few months of the Windows Insider program never came into existence.

This old conceptual image of the Windows 10 Contacts application has never materialized.

At present, with a Windows 10 computer, it is still too easy to find inconsistencies in the design of Microsoft Inbox applications, or in many versions of the theme of a dark theme of the same company . We were hopeful when Microsoft announced the launch of its new Fluent design language to Build 2017, but the phased deployment announced at the time still leaves much to be desired.

By choosing to deploy Fluent Design in waves rather than doing it all at once, Microsoft allowed some applications to look more modern, while others took longer to update and sometimes with a different result. Unfortunately, the end result seems unfinished, which is a shame because Microsoft is really capable of creating beautiful conceptual images, as shown in the first Fluent Design video of Build 2017.

If Fluent Design is still very important for Microsoft, the software giant has apparently changed its way of operating to apply a new philosophy of "open design". According to The Verge, who recently visited Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond to talk with designers and engineers, it's about breaking down silos and creating synergies between different teams. Apparently, his change has already had a profound impact on hardware and software design within the company, the report says.

It's not just about improving Microsoft's visual design. It's a much deeper change that aims to modernize the way Microsoft ships software and competes with much more agile startups that can aggressively attack the many companies it traditionally controls. The challenges of a technological industry that is accelerating every year are considerable.

Verge's report is a very interesting read, although it has already generated interesting comments on the Internet. Owen Williams, a former Mac-loving developer who recently adopted Surface devices, pointed out that Microsoft's implementation of Fluent Design was still a disaster after almost two years.

Yesterday, another developer published a long Twitter feed highlighting all the design inconsistencies still present in Microsoft products, as well as the lack of detailed documentation on Fluent Design. "Microsoft announcing that they would deploy Fluent Design" waves ", it was a huge red flag from the beginning and it shows," writes the developer, adding that "for the moment, Fluent Design is not a system. It's just a bunch of badly defined elements. "

We will probably hear more about Fluent Design during the 2019 construction next week, as the developer conference seems like the perfect opportunity to do that. There is actually a session called "Fluid Design System: Transitioning to Multiple Platforms," ​​indicating that Microsoft is ready to integrate design language on the Web and applications on platforms other than Windows. 10. We do not know priority given that the design situation is not great under Windows 10, but maybe Microsoft is finally ready to apply clear design guidelines after two years of experimentation.

Further reading: Design, Fluent Design System, Microsoft, Windows 10

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