When you're developing for Windows 8 you need to acknowledge that you are developing for a touch-first platform.  This means that as you design your app you will constantly need to be aware of the impacts of designing for touch.  Although the Windows…

I spent the last week of my Brent Goes South for the Winter Tour traveling around the state of Florida.  Armed with nothing but my laptop bag and a black 2013 Camaro it was my mission to spread the word of Windows 8 design to the user groups of three Florida…

In Part 1 of the Microsoft Design Style Series, What is Microsoft Design Style?, I listed the five principles of the Microsoft design style and mentioned that later in the series I would go into them in detail.  I promised you that they are not just marketing…

One of the hottest topics in the software design world right now is something that used to be known as "Metro style design".  Microsoft had some legal concerns over that name so they have changed this term to: "Microsoft design style".  The concepts are…

Building an application that people want to keep using and sharing with their friends is hard work.  You will spend hours trying to get everything just right and many code reviews later you'll have things ready to ship.  However, whether your app is…

Update:  It's "Microsoft design style".

I recently kicked off a post series entitled "Metro Design Series" which is going to cover a wide gamut of topics on Windows 8 and Windows Phone design.  Unfortunately, it looks like I'm probably going…

Microsoft has added the Start button back in Windows 8.1. This was one of the most requested features for Windows 8 since the debut of the operating system. When coupled with another new feature, boot to desktop, users who are most productive in the desktop…

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend and speak at the Southwest Florida .NET Code Camp 2012 in sunny Naples, FL. It was a great event with over 80 attendees. I was there as both a speaker and a sponsor and I also brought my father…

Last night I finally had the opportunity to watch some of the key sessions from day one at Build 2013. On day one I was working the Infragistics booth so I didn’t have the chance to see any of the many great sessions that day. One of the sessions I was…

In the previous post in this series, we went through the third of five principles that guide successful Windows Store application design, authentically digital.  Today I would like to talk about the fourth principle: Do more with less.  This principle…

Today is an exciting day for me.  My book, Designing for Windows 8, officially released today and is now available.  Those of you that pre-ordered it early might already have it or are receiving it today!  

When I got contacted back at the beginning of…

Today I would like to preview an upcoming tutorial series I have been working on and will begin posting here soon.  The series will build a Windows Store application called "Running Total" from the ground up.  The application will allow users to connect…

A great composer will probably have been exposed to a wide variety of music before composing their first symphony.  A best-selling author has most likely read many novels before penning their masterpiece.  Software development is no different from these…

Visual Studio 2013 Preview and Windows 8.1 come with a new version of WinJS: WinJS 2.0. With many of the most used applications (Skype, Mail, Windows Store, News, etc.) on Windows 8.1 using WinJS, Microsoft clearly has a need to keep moving the framework…

Day 1 of Build 2013 came and passed days ago now. Despite not having an attendee badge, I did pay quite a bit of attention to the keynote and the announcements that came with it. I think instead of doing a regurgitation of everything that happened, it…

In this tutorial I will show you how to create the Start and Splash screens for the RecipeLater Windows 8 sample in Indigo Studio.  I have provided both a screencast (in up to 1080p HD quality) as well as a step-by-step set of instructions with screenshots…

Your journey towards building an application for the Windows Store begins as most journeys do -- with a crucial choice.  Thankfully, this choice doesn't involve casting a ring into a burning mountain or choosing the Light Side over the Dark Side.  This…

Sometimes even the best developers need a great starting point from which to develop their masterpieces.  Given the importance of solid design and platform consistency, it should come as no surprise that Visual Studio and Blend for Visual Studio ship with…

Today it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Running Total. Running Total is a reference app for Windows 8 built using infragistics NetAdvantage for Windows UI. It allows runners to visualize their running data.  Not only is the application a…

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak at Philly .NET Code Camp 2012.1 which was hosted at Penn State Abington.  The title of my talk, officially, was the same as the talk at TechBASH.  However, I’ve made a lot of changes to the presentation…

Let’s face it, many of you have app ideas but you’re not building the app.  Why?  I don’t know.  Maybe you need some motivation.  Maybe you’re worried you won’t get any return on your time investment.  Microsoft knows this, but…

In order to truly understand something it is often important to understand where it originated.  This is especially important when the subject at hand is design.  Almost everything designed today has its roots somewhere in the past.  The Microsoft design…

If you ask enough people what they think about the Windows 8 UI, you would begin to think that every single application looks the same.  Many people seem to have this mistaken opinion that we're restricted to hard edged squares and rectangles and there…

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to present in the third and final session slot at Windows 8 Unleashed Boise. I would like to thank my colleague Brian Lagunas for asking me to come out for this. It was a great event and there were a lot of fantastic…

Every great application begins with a thoroughly thought out application design.  With its heavy design focus, the Windows 8 platform demands more at the design stage than many developers may be accustomed to.  One of the best ways to flesh out and try…