a new User Interface in next generation of Office products
Jensen Harris, a user interface expert from the Microsoft Office team, shows in his latest PDF presentation
how the new Office "12" will look like. At more than 300 mil paid
customers, Office is the most successful client-side tool ever. Since
1st version of Word, in 1989, Office has evolved a lot. Their interface
designers studied tons of user sessions, to track user patterns, and
their conclusions are interesting for all client side UI designers.
Menus and toolbars will be gone; to fit in the increased complexity of
tools available. Contextual tabs should help "diving" into new
sections; live preview will enhance usability; plus a few brand new
features.
The new interface focuses on content rather than confusing the user in the U.I. itself. They even claim that they will remove stuff, in order to simplify (I wonder how will managers like that). Office 12 is beta 1 now, beta2 will follow and by that time the interface will stabilize. It will be interesting to see how users will perceive the new design.
The new interface focuses on content rather than confusing the user in the U.I. itself. They even claim that they will remove stuff, in order to simplify (I wonder how will managers like that). Office 12 is beta 1 now, beta2 will follow and by that time the interface will stabilize. It will be interesting to see how users will perceive the new design.
