Like it or not, Windows 8 is indicative of Microsoft's new user interface direction. Computers, tablets, phones, and gaming consoles are all converging on the same basic ideas in Redmond. The significant nature of the change might seem abrupt for Microsoft, but some newly rediscovered UI mockups show how long the tile-based UI has been planned for Windows.
In a recent UX Week talk, a Microsoft exec by the name of Jensen Harris gave us a look at some early interface designs from the development of Windows 8. Perhaps the most interesting thing to notice is many of the UI decisions that we see in the final build of the new Windows are present in these images.
The new start screen that has drawn such harsh criticism is on display in the mockups — it even has very similar menus in the corner when compared to the final build. The Charms bar is a UI element that makes plenty of sense on a tablet, but less on a desktop. So it's telling that way back in 2010 Microsoft had implemented this control.
There are some aspects of the design that did evolve, though. In general, the mockups are a little less "flat" than Windows 8 has ended up being. This is especially evident in the Charms bar, which has a real Aero vibe. Microsoft unveiled a new desktop UI shortly before Windows 8 launched sans the Aero Glass effects that had been the hallmark of Windows since Vista. Check out a few more images here.
In 2010, the iPad was just being released, and we didn't know that Microsoft’s Courier had been killed. Redmond was reacting faster than it let on, but these mockups might never have amounted to anything if tablets hadn't taken off the way they did.
via I Started Something
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