Microsoft Fluent Design

Microsoft has started to roll out their own design language called Fluent Design System. The design system will form the foundation of all interaction in Windows. Fluent Design will be adopted across all desktop, mixed reality, internet of things, Xbox, server and web. Fluent Design intends to bring users a more natural user experience to the Windows platform. Consistency is key when designing systems and applications for multiple platforms. Fluent Design is based on five key components: Light, Depth, Motion, Material and Scale.

Material (Acrylic)

Acrylic is a common element in the Fluent Design system that shows up across apps and operating systems. Acrylic enables transparent backgrounds which means letting background and windows to blur through.

Light (Reveal)

Another Fluent Design element is the ‘Reveal’ element which follows the cursor when hovering over certain elements within the operating system and applications such as in the action centre and start menu.

Depth, Parallax and Motion

Depth, parallax and motion are the newest features, which Microsoft is slowly implementing and slowly roll out in future updates.

Dark and Light Modes

By default Windows is set as ‘Light’ mode, however, light mode still features a dark start taskbar and action centre. Microsoft has rolled out the dark and light mode which mainly changes the colour of Windows Explorer and apps.   

New Icons

Microsoft has also recently unveiled new icons which they will start to use across their platforms to follow their new Fluent Design philosophy.

Summary

Fluent Design is ongoing progress for Microsoft to slowly iron out and start implementing Fluent Design features across their platforms and devices. However the creation of the design system has enabled Microsoft to create a distinguished but unique look and feel across their product line-up while maintaining consistency as well.