Microsoft has launched a site detailing the design principles and concepts used for designing Windows Phone apps.
This comes just after their release of the new Windows Phone 8 SDK recently, and contains excellent and helpful information on how to design a Windows Phone app that matches the unique Windows design.
It delves in great depth the design principles and process in designing a Windows Phone app.
Our design principles
We believe in experiences that are defined by clean, uncluttered app screens that operate quickly, minimize typing, and surface new info automatically.
Our design process
Great apps go through five unique stages of design. See how they can help you realize your app’s true potential.
You can find the site within the Windows Phone Dev Center, or here: http://dev.windowsphone.com/en-us/design.
On a related note, Arturo Toledo, the former senior user experience designer at Microsoft, has released a PDF detailing the Windows Phone design principles as well.
It’s another great resource for UX guidance which goes far in aiding developers design their Windows Phone apps, such as choosing what kind of pages for different kinds of jobs.
You can find all the brilliant 192 pages here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/88170625/24%20Weeks%20of%20Windows%20Phone%20Design.pdf
On the same topic of designing, there’s a very good write up on how Disney’s 12 Principles of Animation can be applied to mobile designing as well. It shows various examples of how apps and operating systems utilize these principles to give “that little touch of magic”.
Smashing Magazine has released a full chapter here:
http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/10/30/motion-animation-new-mobile-ux-design-material/
And the book it’s from can be bought here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933820551/
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