Concept designer shows the Start menu is "poorly designed"

Mar 17, 2015 08:55 GMT  ·  By
Some of the features that Microsoft got wrong in the Start menu, according to Langdon
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   Some of the features that Microsoft got wrong in the Start menu, according to Langdon

The Start menu is back in Windows 10, and the Technical Preview builds that are available as part of the Windows Insider program allow users to give it a try before the public launch of the new operating system.

And while it's a good thing that Microsoft did bring back the Start menu after nearly two years of criticism caused by its removal in Windows 8, there's still a lot of work to be made in order to make the new version at least as useful as its Windows 7 sibling.

Concept designer Matthew Langdon has created his very own graphic to explain why the new Start menu is poorly designed and why some of the elements that we get in Windows 10 aren't placed where you would actually expect them to be.

It all starts with the live tiles

In Windows 10, the Start menu is supposed to look fresh and modern with help from live tiles, previously available on the Windows 8 Start screen and now playing the same role in Windows 10.

But their original position is not at all handy, Langdon says. "They are placed where system links (Pictures, Videos, Documents, Control Panel) are traditionally placed. This layout feels like change for the sake of change," he explains.

On the other hand, the list of apps and system shortcuts is now placed on the left, and not on the right, where they were supposed to be from the very beginning. "This makes accessing file libraries and PC more difficult for many users," the designer adds.

While it's a little bit early to determine whether this is counterintuitive or not, the design of the Start menu as we see it right now is still part of an early UI, so many things could change until Windows 10 comes out.

Needless to say, Windows 10 adopters can very well adapt to this new design as well, but it's all a matter of making the new operating system feel more like home for beginners too.

User concept showing a more familiar Start menu design
User concept showing a more familiar Start menu design

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Some of the features that Microsoft got wrong in the Start menu, according to Langdon
User concept showing a more familiar Start menu design
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