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Windows Live Wave 3: New Header UI

Jun 5, 2008 5:06 am by Chris | 24 comments

As the 2nd part in our Windows Live Wave 3 series, we’re taking a look at the new header UI that Microsoft is working on. It was almost exactly a year ago that we started talking about the Wave 2 UI, which saw the removal of the Flair. This next change is just as noticeable.

Key changes include:

- No orb: Windows Live is seemingly following the MSN approach, providing links to the key services and then a drop down menu with the other services on offer. This should make it easier for users to discover the less main-stream services.

- Customisable background: Users can choose from a range of standard backgrounds to appear across the Windows Live sites, but we’re also hearing that users can use a custom background too.

- Search: The box is less intrusive, blending in with the background. Also of note is the removal of the ugly green button, which goes a long way to making this design much more aesthetically pleasing.

- No product names: In an attempt to seemingly clean up the branding issues once and for all, Microsoft is making the product names less obvious. Instead products are referred to by a basic, self-explanatory name, Files instead of Skydrive, for example. That’s not to say the product names are necessarily being cut, but this simplification is a move which is long overdue.

The new header also shows the approach to some of the Wave 3 social networking services. A focus on the user’s own profile for example, something which Microsoft has languished behind on as other social networking sites developed. Then there is the absence of Spaces in the header, instead being replaced by two separate aspects of the product, People (or Friends?), and Photos. More focus here perhaps?

The problem with Microsoft developing the Windows Live UI over the past few years has been the lack of consistency, something Kip highlighted recently about Live Search. For example, Windows Live Favorites and My.Live.com are both still running the Wave 1 UI, with this being due to a lack of product updates over the past year. Now that Microsoft is shutting down some of the unnecessary products (eg Expo, also running the Wave 1 UI), this will hopefully help improve the situation.

Disclaimer: This is just the current M1 (Milestone 1) UI, and may change before public release

This entry was posted in Featured, News and tagged Graphics, UI, Wave 3, Windows Live. Bookmark the permalink.

Fabio Rosolen

Any news about the new Windows Live Mail?
Mephiles

Profile?! People?! Photos?!
Chris

Profile exists already but isn’t a standalone part. Same goes with Photos (photos.live.com)
Khristopher

It looks good. Definite improvement. It reminds me of Zune.
o2mcgovem

What about Windows Live Message Boards at http://boards.live.com/

Isn’t that like pre-Wave 1? I remember the very first Windows Live Ideas website looking kinda like that.
Espiox

Nice, seems to be modelled after the Zune UI, which is frankly one of the best UIs I’ve seen in a long time. Props to MS.
Chris

o2mcgovm: great spot. That is pre-Wave 1 like you say, which begs the question why do they still have it running. Just ditch it and use the new Microsoft Forums like Writer/Mesh are doing.

Totally agree on the Zune-esque appearance.
quikboy

Hmm. Guess it’s fine, just based on what’s shown. I actually kinda liked the orb. There better be a custom background – I hate the Zune background style.

Could care less about the other two. Hopefully they can actually improve their services and fine-tune them with more features, instead of just a new look.
Ryan

I prefer Wave 2 by a long shot. The new one takes up too much screen space. I hope that there is a lot of refinement in the coming weeks.
CalumJR

I don’t really know what I think about this, but they should still have kept the ‘Orb’ logo, even if it didn’t have the drop-down!

The ‘Orb’ logo looks much better than just the four coloured windows :(
Alex

Wow – this looks good. Really good. They should fix the alignment on the user icon and links, but they probably will.

I agree with calum-r- btw, the orb is nice. But it might be nice to change the colours to just plain black (or maybe white), so it blends in (or contrasts with) the rest of the fairly colorless header.

Can’t wait to see what this is going to evolve into :D
tophtucker

Interesting. I sort of liked the Orb/toolbar approach, sort of mirroring the Start orb/taskbar and the Office orb/ribbon. Oh well. Branding remains a total mess. The whole thing remains a total mess. But it has some stuff going for it.
Chris

The orb on Windows and Office works, but with Windows Live, i’m not sure if it does. How many regular users actually go and click that thing to see the drop down menu?
wargarurumon

my guess is that this ui will probably be used first on on the live personal homepage

since every other personalized homepage(google ig, netflakes,…) has lots of different backgrounds
but whats really great here that you could be able to choose your own background

bu i can’t be more than satisfied, finally to be rid of that annoying blue, i really don’t like blue, i’m a yellow and red guy
foaf

great stuff. I just hope they get it right this time:
set a date and roll it out across all Live sites at the same time.
thaman04

I actually really like it… it’s much more organized and nicer this way.. and the customization is very cool!

The only problem I have is the Windows Live logo… i agree with a lot of you who said the orb should stay.. the orb is the ‘windows LIVE’ symbol… without the orb it just looks a bit plain.. also i wished they used a png/gif for the ‘windows live’ text instead of just text because it looks a bit cheap and plain like that.. lol

Other than that.. I really like it.. a big step up :)
quikboy

So agree with the Orb comments. The orb was pretty nice to get to other services at the beginning, but they kept changing it until all it did was go directly to Live.com or nothing.

I also thought that the Windows Live Orb logo could be a bit different from the Windows symbol. I was thinking of a different look, like the way the MS Office logo, has the similar look to Windows logo, but is very distinct. Except that maybe the Orb could be the center part of where all 4 “panes” touch in the Windows logo. Or some variation of that.

I also agree with thaman04. Windows Live is a lousy name, and just dropping the name like that without the orb makes it even more dull. I also hate the TM behind it. If you ask me, just rename the thing WinLive and it would be much more catchy. Or WinWeb or something short and simple. That’s how all the popular internet desintations are named. Not boring Windows Live.
CalumJR

“WinLIve” … now that doesn’t actually sound too bad…

@ Chris: I don’t think they should nessercarily include the drop down, but just the Orb as the logo, maybe even without the drop down. It makes sense seeing as though Windows Vista has the Orb and this is a part of Windows (essentially).
BartW78

How does one get hold of Wlindows Live Wave 3?

Bart
derviskemal

another service that is still on wave 1
Windows Live Alerts!
alerts.live.com
:(
derviskemal

another service that is still on wave 1
Windows Live Alerts!
alerts.live.com
:(
martijnsch

Same to Windows Live Favorites…

favorites.live.com
.Chris

Am I the only one who thinks this is a HUGE, and may I say HUGE!!!!!! step back? Looks horable! very childish. You say you want to have the live services in windows? does this mean we will go back to luna? cuz it sure looks like it….

please keep the constancy. keep the glossy, but offer us top change the color, and have it be on all live serices. and keep the background choices.

I’m sorry but this makes me not want to use windows live anymore, you have taken HUGE step back
seeminglee

About time companies move onto clean and clear header designs. Kudos to the windows design team!
Related: a clean header I did for AOL back in 2004: http://flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/2134552098