[Sigia-l] Adapting the Office 2007 Look & Feel :: A Case Study

[handa at umich.edu]

Hi, folks --

Now that Microsoft Office 2007 has hit the streets, I'm sure that we'll 
be seeing lots of desktop software being released for the Microsoft 
Windows OS using Office 2007's look and feel.

For folks who design UIs for Window's based desktop applications, this 
design style may be new and it will take a little time to study and 
learn how to adapt to your own products.

Although I have a day job with a mobile software company, I'm also a 
hobbyist programmer in C#. My first product is called FloSpace 
FloPrompter, a teleprompter that runs on your PC. I recently released 
version 2.0 which features the new Office 2007 L&F.

This project was a little bit of a challenge fore me (in a good way!) 
due to the fact that the new Office 2007 L&F was completely new to me 
-- and I don't even own a copy of it yet. So I wrote up a little case 
study on this project which other desktop UI designers might find 
interesting. If you see any points that you'd like me to expound upon, 
please let me know and I'll update the blog posting.

    www.infotart.com


Separately, I'd also like to plug a workshop I'm giving June 2 here in 
Boston. The talk is entitled, "Introduction to Mobile User Experience 
Design". The workshop is targeted to UI designers and usability 
professionals who are either interested in focusing professionally on 
software for mobile platforms or may be working on a project to 
"mobilize" an application. The workshop will feature some small group 
activities. For more information and to sign up, please visit the 
Boston UPA web site. Cost is $75 and includes breakfast and lunch.

    http://www.upaboston.org/workshops.shtml


Cheers,
Anthony Hand