>
It appears to be a grid of icons in two different sizes, laid out at randomYou can change the layout. You can also choose icon size based on whether the larger icon is more useful due to 1) increased visibility, and/or 2) increased space for notifications.
Metro is also a lot more than just the start screen. It's a a style that describes the entire platform. It's clean and modern, it's content instead of chrome, it's crisp and legible, and it's free of the pseudo-physical elements (whether leather or glass or metal or whatever) that have become so common in GUIs.
The Windows team published a case study that highlights a lot of the metro aesthetic, and it goes way beyond the design of the tile. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh86826...
> with the Microsoft app icons being blocks of unpleasant primary color, with a white image in front of it.
Obviously, tastes differ. White on solid color is what basic metro tiles look like, though, and the offenders are the parties who shove their faux-3D logo into the tile without adapting it to the platform. This is no better than app developers who do a half-assed port of an iOS app to Android.
Disclaimer: Microsoft employee
You can change the layout. You can also choose icon size based on whether the larger icon is more useful due to 1) increased visibility, and/or 2) increased space for notifications.
Metro is also a lot more than just the start screen. It's a a style that describes the entire platform. It's clean and modern, it's content instead of chrome, it's crisp and legible, and it's free of the pseudo-physical elements (whether leather or glass or metal or whatever) that have become so common in GUIs.
The Windows team published a case study that highlights a lot of the metro aesthetic, and it goes way beyond the design of the tile. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh86826...
> with the Microsoft app icons being blocks of unpleasant primary color, with a white image in front of it.
Obviously, tastes differ. White on solid color is what basic metro tiles look like, though, and the offenders are the parties who shove their faux-3D logo into the tile without adapting it to the platform. This is no better than app developers who do a half-assed port of an iOS app to Android.
Disclaimer: Microsoft employee