Is Microsoft Fluent Design System the Next Aero?
When I ask the question "Is Microsoft Fluent Design System the Next Aero?", I mean it in a very daunting way. What I really mean to ask is if Microsoft Fluent Design System would suffer the same fate as the Windows Aero? Crass, I know. But possible? Yes.
Knowing Microsoft, it would read the Fluent Design System, implement it as software APIs and tell their developers to apply it to Windows and to native apps. Later, they would package the APIs as an SDK or update for outside developers so they too can apply/use the Fluent Design System in their applications.
If developers are lucky, the APIs would include Xamarin compatibility and support. If luckier, developers may also find versions of the APIs for Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, etc. If luckiest, they may also find Fluent Design System implemented as a bootstrapper package for web applications.
Sounds too good to be true? Most of these are actually possible. The web bootstrapper part is bit of a stretch. Regardless, there is really one important delivery that Microsoft should do when they publicly launch their Fluent Design System. It's more important than just the full guidelines, the APIs, the SDKs and what have you for developers.
Microsoft should find it a priority to launch the next Office update with Fluent Design System applied. Office is the inspiration of most UI/UX designers who want to make their applications appear and behave more like authentic Windows apps. If you think about it, Office is the ultimate example of how productivity apps can be created. Many developers learn from it, get inspirations from it and adopt parts of it in their own applications.
Unfortunately, Fluent Design System will be launched in Windows next year. The next version of Office is in 2019. One whole year apart.
There are already Fluent preview APIs exposed to developers to play around with. Just like with Metro way back when, it's mostly for playing around. There is no benchmark on what really works. There is no guiding inspiration for serious creation.
If you read through Microsoft's publications, Fluent is shaping up to be Windows development-specific. It seems tightly associated with UWP, which, mind you, has questionable success with developers. It seems like the Fluent will not be developed and implemented to its best potential as an aspect platform, rather than a design language per se.
The Fluent Design System by itself is really just graphics and animations. However, reading through Microsoft's preview materials for developers, they are defining Fluent as MDL/2 + graphics and animations. It's a sad direction, specially if you think about how broadly Fluent can be applied.
Understand that Fluent focuses on aspects behind MDL/2. That means, you can turn on Fluent or turn it off, either way you still get MDL/2. There is nothing about Fluent that needs it to be there all the time. If a device can't support the graphics and animations requirements of Fluent, it can be turned off and you get MDL/2. If Fluent is just additional CPU/GPU/memory/power consumption without much value, it can be turned off and you get the same MDL/2 interface. As you can see, Fluent is really like Windows Aero in many ways.
So can Fluent suffer the same fate as Windows Aero? If you read through how Microsoft is currently progressing with Fluent, yes. Remember, Aero died when Metro arrived. Thus, if MDL/2 dies, Fluent can die with it.
However, Fluent is not exactly like Windows Aero. It doesn't need to be. The only reason Fluent can die is if it is tightly coupled with MDL/2. Microsoft can choose to be careful about this. Fluent is not MDL/3. Fluent can be just a layer under design languages. If done right, MDL/2 can have it's own lifespan, but Fluent can live on to the next design language, whatever it may be...
Knowing Microsoft, it would read the Fluent Design System, implement it as software APIs and tell their developers to apply it to Windows and to native apps. Later, they would package the APIs as an SDK or update for outside developers so they too can apply/use the Fluent Design System in their applications.
If developers are lucky, the APIs would include Xamarin compatibility and support. If luckier, developers may also find versions of the APIs for Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, etc. If luckiest, they may also find Fluent Design System implemented as a bootstrapper package for web applications.
Sounds too good to be true? Most of these are actually possible. The web bootstrapper part is bit of a stretch. Regardless, there is really one important delivery that Microsoft should do when they publicly launch their Fluent Design System. It's more important than just the full guidelines, the APIs, the SDKs and what have you for developers.
Microsoft should find it a priority to launch the next Office update with Fluent Design System applied. Office is the inspiration of most UI/UX designers who want to make their applications appear and behave more like authentic Windows apps. If you think about it, Office is the ultimate example of how productivity apps can be created. Many developers learn from it, get inspirations from it and adopt parts of it in their own applications.
Unfortunately, Fluent Design System will be launched in Windows next year. The next version of Office is in 2019. One whole year apart.
There are already Fluent preview APIs exposed to developers to play around with. Just like with Metro way back when, it's mostly for playing around. There is no benchmark on what really works. There is no guiding inspiration for serious creation.
If you read through Microsoft's publications, Fluent is shaping up to be Windows development-specific. It seems tightly associated with UWP, which, mind you, has questionable success with developers. It seems like the Fluent will not be developed and implemented to its best potential as an aspect platform, rather than a design language per se.
The Fluent Design System by itself is really just graphics and animations. However, reading through Microsoft's preview materials for developers, they are defining Fluent as MDL/2 + graphics and animations. It's a sad direction, specially if you think about how broadly Fluent can be applied.
Understand that Fluent focuses on aspects behind MDL/2. That means, you can turn on Fluent or turn it off, either way you still get MDL/2. There is nothing about Fluent that needs it to be there all the time. If a device can't support the graphics and animations requirements of Fluent, it can be turned off and you get MDL/2. If Fluent is just additional CPU/GPU/memory/power consumption without much value, it can be turned off and you get the same MDL/2 interface. As you can see, Fluent is really like Windows Aero in many ways.
So can Fluent suffer the same fate as Windows Aero? If you read through how Microsoft is currently progressing with Fluent, yes. Remember, Aero died when Metro arrived. Thus, if MDL/2 dies, Fluent can die with it.
However, Fluent is not exactly like Windows Aero. It doesn't need to be. The only reason Fluent can die is if it is tightly coupled with MDL/2. Microsoft can choose to be careful about this. Fluent is not MDL/3. Fluent can be just a layer under design languages. If done right, MDL/2 can have it's own lifespan, but Fluent can live on to the next design language, whatever it may be...
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