Metro (design language)

[6] According to Microsoft, "Metro" has always been a codename and was never meant as a final product, but news websites attribute this change to trademark issues.

Flat colored "live tiles" were introduced into the design language during the early Windows Phones studies.

This version introduced a new set of widgets, including date pickers, toggles and switches, and reduced the border thicknesses for all user interface elements.

Microsoft sees the design language as "sleek, quick, modern" and a "refresh" from the icon-based interfaces of Windows, Android, and iOS.

He also mentioned the "motion" of the UI, specifically in Windows Phone, of the Live Tiles, moving dots, and kinetic scrolling.

Microsoft recommends consistent acknowledgement of transitions, and user interactions (such as presses or swipes) by some form of natural animation or motion.

"[19] CNET complimented the design language, saying, "it's a bit more daring and informal than the tight, sterile icon grids and Rolodex menus of the iPhone and iPod Touch.

IT journalist Lee Hutchinson described Microsoft's use of the practice in the macOS version of OneNote as terrible, claiming that it is "cursed with insane, non-standard application window menus IN ALL CAPS that doesn't so much violate OS X's design conventions as it does take them out behind the shed, pour gasoline on them, and set them on fire.

"[25] With the arrival of Windows 8, the operating system's user interface and its use of the design language drew generally negative critical responses.

"[27] In addition to the changes to the Start menu, Windows 8 takes a more modal approach with its use of full-screen apps that steer away from reliance on the icon-based desktop interface.

[29] Technology news outlets Ars Technica,[30] TechRadar,[31] CNET,[32] Engadget[33] and Network World[34] and mainstream press Bits Blog from The New York Times Company[35] and the BBC News Online[36] published that the partner mentioned in the memo could be one of Microsoft's retail partners, German company Metro AG, as the name had the potential to infringe on their "Metro" trademark.

Microsoft later stated that the reason for de-emphasizing the name was not related to any current litigation, and that "Metro" was only an internal project codename,[37] despite having heavily promoted the brand to the public.

[38] In some contexts, the company began using the term "Modern" or the more generic "Windows 8" modifier to refer to the new design, possibly as a placeholder.