Brent Schooley - Designing for Windows 8: Fundamentals of Great Design in Windows Store Apps

DESIGNING FOR WINDOWS 8

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Brent Schooley

Designing for Windows 8

Copyright 2013 by Brent Schooley

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ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4302-4959-7

ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-4960-3

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To my parents, who always made me believe anything is possible

Contents

About the Author

Brent Schooley is a Technical Evangelist for Infragistics with a focus on mobile platforms. He has been working with Microsoft technologies since 2004. His interests include client- and mobile-application development and userexperience design, with a recent emphasis on Windows 8 and Windows Phone. With keen attention to detail and strong technical and design crossover skills, Brent has always been able to relate to both designers and developers to help them achieve their goals.

About the Technical Reviewer

Alejandro Toledo is an Experience Program Manager and Developer. He recently cofounded a boutique design studio with his brother Arturo, providing experience architecture, user-interface design, and design-education services. Alejandro is also a polyglot involved in an ongoing study of multiple languages spoken around the world. Possessed of an inquisitive mind, Alejandro enjoys spending time with designers and developers, helping them to produce the best possible apps for Windows and Windows Phone. He draws inspiration and energy from his wife and young daughter.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I must thank my colleagues at Infragistics for the guidance and support they have provided throughout this process. In particular, many thanks go to Ambrose Little and George Abraham for helping to shape the original presentation content that inspired this book. This book also wouldnt have been possible without my fantastic boss, Jason Beres, allowing me some time during the workweek to dedicate to the book. I also want to thank my CEO, Dean Guida, for fostering an environment where creativity can truly shine. Thank you also to Nick Landry, Dara Monasch, and Bill Hazard for providing much needed support throughout this process.

I also want to acknowledge the various attendees of user groups, code camps, and conferences where I presented my Designing for Windows 8 session. The questions asked and comments made during these sessions helped shape the material in this book. The energy and enthusiasm all of you showed for this topic helped keep me motivated to complete this book.

Many thanks go to my wonderful familyeveryone from my parents and grandparents to aunts, uncles, and cousins. All of you have been very supportive, and I couldnt have finished this without that support!

Finally, I want to thank my wonderful editorial staff at Apress. Big thanks go to Gwenan Spearing for seeking me out as a writer for this topic. This is my first book, and Gwenan had faith in my ability to write about this subject. Christine Ricketts has done a fantastic job of helping me through the editorial process. Ben Renow-Clarkes help in focusing and restructuring the early portions of the book made the end product much more approachable and understandable than I had originally envisioned. Everyone involved in the process has been very understanding concerning the various delays encountered. Thank you for your faith in me and for helping me reach the finish line.

Introduction

Windows 8 offers exciting new opportunities for developers and designers. Microsoft has created a platform for touch-first applications that features a clean design language inspired by major design movements. This marksthe first time that design is paramount in creating Windows applications. This can be a challenge for Windows developers who may not have had to concern themselves with design before. If you are going to build Windows Store applications, you will have to understand the fundamentals of designing for the platform. Designing for Windows 8 has been written to help both developers and designers understand what is necessary to create welldesigned applications for Windows 8.