Microsoft touts 'design for discovery' as firm lifts lid on Windows Store UI for Windows 8

Anyone who has any experience with Microsoft's Metro UI whether through Windows Phone, or the highly Metro-esque updated dashboard for Xbox 360 will already have formed an accurate impression as to the forthcoming Windows Store's UI.

Microsoft, however, has decided to shed further light on the ins and outs of the store for the benefit of developers, touting what the company describes as a "design for discovery".

Discovering discovery

"When we set out to design the Windows Store, we had a number of design goals and principles that guided us to our final experience," says Microsoft's corporate VP of the Windows Web Services team Antoine Leblond.

"The fundamental building block of our Store design was to ensure that people could easily discover and quickly acquire apps.

"While this is a somewhat obvious goal for a catalogue or marketplace, it's actually pretty challenging when the size and diversity of the catalogue grows as quickly as we expect to happen in the Windows Store."

As the pictures attest, the store has a lot in common with Windows Phone Marketplace's presence on the web, with Microsoft keen to do away with standardised blocks of apps on pages so developers can implant their brands in users' minds.

Brand battles

"To ensure that the app's personality shines through, the app listing page uses the visual elements from the app package to apply the app's brand color and logo," adds Leblond.

"Screenshots are given extremely prominent placement because, for many people, it's the visuals that best tell the story of the app."

One notable app included in the showcase is ZeptoLab's Cut the Rope, following the studio's decision to debut an HTML5 version on Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 at the start of January.

[source: Microsoft]