Why so many bad Windows Phone 7 tile design

[ACTIONpack]

I own a Windows Phone 7 HTC HD7 but I can't stand all the really bad tile design that the developer use when releasing an app. It makes me feel like my phone is really cheap. Apple has the best looking app and then WebOS and then Android. It's just mind blowing how icon is so hard for people on the Windows side to do. They need someone to review the icon because releasing the app. Steve Job was very picky with their app but you can see how good they are. Windows Phone 7 need a designer review before they can release the app. No Joke!

http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/gg317447

[~Johnny]

From what I can gather, a lot of developers look at Metro, and think "oh it's just some text and squares, that looks pretty simple", and then underestimate the importance of well thought-out design in Metro. Hence, they practically ignore any proper design focus in their apps because they think there's nothing to design - the text's all there. Just keep stacking text on top of each other in random places! Metro's apparently simplicity is very deceptive, and most developers (of which - most are just one or two people coding in their spare time) don't understand this. Making text look good on it's own requires quite a bit of smart effort.

Anyway, what this leads on too is a general lack of design focus for many, and also given the inherent lack of reliance of icons for most WP apps too (and those that do tend to use the sample icons), designing an actual icon can be an afterthought in a lot of cases. Just chuck together some weird looking white object and be done with it seems to be the consensus for a lot on the marketplace.

Buuuut, most of the apps that actually count or are worthwhile tend to have actually *been designed*, and also tend to have decent icons as a result.

Or maybe I'm just crazy... =P

[FiB3R]

Any apps in particular? Most of my pinned tiles look pretty good.

[ACTIONpack]

Any apps in particular? Most of my pinned tiles look pretty good.

If you do a search for something and most will see very bad tile design. All the feature apps looks great but when you go deep in to it then the bad stuff will pop up really quick. If the tile design is bad then the app will look bad too.

[Roger H. Veteran]

Moved to Windows Phone

[FiB3R]

I've got around 100 apps on my phone atm. Most look good, a few are so so, a couple make me want to scratch my eyes out.

[Zain Adeel]

Thank u for making a thread about this.

I have had it!...

ugly app logos. And ugly splash screens. Many apps dont have splash screens at all. Some apps have patheticly dont icons and stuff. But im forced to use them because they are good apps function wise.

I am saying this here. If u develop for WP7. U need work with icons or tile. Email me. Ill charge almost nothing just so the tiles can look little better. Ill do my best. I was going to make a topic about it in a day or so. I can do alot better than makeshift icons.

[Ghostdraconi]

I think its due to the app approval process. I think I recall reading that Apple has guidelines for its app icon whereas Microsoft don't seem to care too much about it.

[Zain Adeel]

some apps i use alot but wish had better UI.

Flashlight 7 : (the tile is really a photo. I think a metro flashlight would look very sweet.

Accurate tuner : the app tile can be metrofied and look amazing.

Cam Broadcaster : i dont use it :p but it was free for a day so downloaded it (it needs work).

Cool Remote : Brilliant app. I use my whole desktop to check torrent download from a floor above with this awesome app but the icon. Damn. I cant pin it to start screen just because of the bad icon.

gMaps : very poorly done Tile (flashy effects gradients on the map)

PC Remote : recently updated. Added tiles for softwares to control but the software icons itself are so off. Its yukhy. This app needs alot of work but is a great app function wise. I use it to control media player controls while watching a movie if im in bed.

TVersity remote : Again same problem as with other remote apps. The icons are like a half hour job or maybe from google images.

[Dot Matrix]

If you do a search for something and most will see very bad tile design. All the feature apps looks great but when you go deep in to it then the bad stuff will pop up really quick. If the tile design is bad then the app will look bad too.

Most of this is junk Android ports.

[myxomatosis]

I guess it's something very personal. I have an iPhone 4S, I like it a lot, and I have many many paid apps. But in my personal opinion, WP7.5 has the most beautiful, slick, sexy and modern design.

iOS is well designed and easy to use, but it sometimes feels dated visually ;) And some icons are literally AWFUL (Mint.com, Mail app, Youtube app, iBooks, iSub, etc.)

[capr]

I totally agree, none of the apps I downloaded ever used the metro design very well. I believe it's just because the platform is new. Devs just want to put something out there for now and focus on particulars later.

Devs need to realize how much information they can give the user from just the tile.

Example: Weather, that I never really want to run the app, I just want to look at my phone and know the weather...

alarm clocks. I don't want to have to run this app. Just list 2-3 alarms (let me pick which) and show them on the tile.

Maps, is it really that difficult to have the tile show a live map?

I can give examples all day. Ended up selling my windows phone this week cause the developers just weren't delivering what microsoft envisioned.

[Zain Adeel]

I guess it's something very personal. I have an iPhone 4S, I like it a lot, and I have many many paid apps. But in my personal opinion, WP7.5 has the most beautiful, slick, sexy and modern design.

iOS is well designed and easy to use, but it sometimes feels dated visually ;) And some icons are literally AWFUL.

its not only the icons.

It starts there. As the icon is pretty much the easiest to make. (considering time). Where as the actual UI buttons or icons or background or splashscreen takes long. So if an app has a bad icon expect it to have a bad UI all over.

Theres this app called AppDeals (its designed in a way that is something between flat Metro and the WEB 2.0 UI. but its done with attention to details and it looks really good.

Also i love how IMDB looks. or even Allrecipes looks really nice aswell.

[greenwizard88]

Okay I'll bite. I'm a single developer, I have an app. It's a Magic: The Gathering app. I used to have an ugly looking wizard, but he was "flat". I changed it to the guy who's in my siggy, and in the app list I have a blue icon with a white wizard hat.

How could I make my app icons look better?

note: I'm against making a transparent tile with a white hat icon. That just seems too... boring!

edit: I know it's not great, but what direction should I be going in?

[Zain Adeel]

ill download ur app and let u know :)

i cant find ur app in marketplace.. :s

[greenwizard88]

I have no idea why it wasn't working, it kept talking me to a page to download zune, too. I switched up the hyperlink, let me know what you think.

[HawkMan]

Yes there are apps with bad icons, but mot iOS apps alo have terrible icos and UI designs. The ratio of goods actually better on WP hn iOS or android. IOS jus happen to have far more apps for now an thus also more well designed ones.