Windows 8 and Windows Phone Guidance for Visual and UX Designers

September 10, 2013 · by · in ,

At least once a week I craft an email to an agency or developer or designer who has asked for design support for Windows or Windows Phone. At Microsoft, our approach changes as our platforms mature and grow. Earlier in the year I was running design clinics in Modern Jago but those session have now stopped, so here’s my current guidance for designers and developers who are looking for the most up to date information.

Andrew Spooner presenting a Windows 8 Design and UX Workshop in London

I have been running workshops for visual and UX designers around Windows 8 but currently, there are none in the diary right now. There will be some more coming later on in the year and we’re working on venues and dates right now. If you’d like to be notified of when these events are being run then register on this URL http://aka.ms/getintouch and enter my name when prompted (this also enters you to a monthly draw for a WP or Surface!) and you will be notified of appropriate design and dev related events when they are announced. Else, follow me on Twitter (@andspo) as I’ll announce them there too.

Windows 8 – design training and workshops in the UK

If you are a designer who is looking to start a Windows 8 project, there are 2 URLs that you should know. The Microsoft Virtual Academy website and design.windows.com. There is a Windows 8 design course on the Microsoft Virtual Academy delivered by my colleague Chris Mayo in Redmond. It is a day long training course which you can dip in an out of and the content there is very similar to that which we use in our Windows 8 workshops. We are currently working on updating that content for Windows 8.1 and when that update project is complete we will announce new workshops and update the content on the Virtual Academy website. For the time being, that’s the most up to date video guidance.

If you prefer to read documentation then head to design.windows.com. There you will find our recommended info on how to plan your app, Photoshop templates, UX case studies and a full Index of UX guidelines for Windows Store apps and a load of other information.

Windows Phone – design training and guidelines

There are no in-person workshops planned for designers interested in Windows Phone currently, although I hope to be in a position to offer those early next year. For design guidance around Windows Phone the best place to start for documentation is http://dev.windowsphone.com/en-us/design. There is also a Windows Phone Design Bootcamp on Channel 9.

If you have any specific questions, then feel free to contact me over Twitter for guidance.

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