Forum Discussion
Discussion - Updating our interface with Fluent touches
Thank you so much for all your feedback on the overall design of the new version of Edge, as it is invaluable to our getting the experience right. A common thread through this feedback has been a lot of discussion about the definition of “Fluent” design, and how it should apply to Microsoft products, so we wanted to share an update to provide some clarity. As opposed to a specific or static set of design rules, Fluent is intended to be an ever-evolving design system across Microsoft products. As the world around us continues to evolve, including devices, interaction models, user habits and expectations, the Microsoft design system must also evolve to meet the changing needs of our users. This means Fluent will not necessarily always represent everything that it did several years ago when the look and feel of the legacy version of Edge was first developed. You can learn more about the current direction of Fluent by visiting the Fluent Design System Page, which provides a summary of the design system as a whole, as well as how it applies to different platforms, applications and controls across Microsoft.
If you browse through the Fluent guidance at the link above, you’ll note that the new version of Edge is aligned with the current direction Fluent is going, and we will continue to evolve along with the design system and Microsoft as a whole. While Edge may be one of the first to put some of these new Fluent elements into practice, you will continue to see other products across the company update to reflect this direction as well. For example, you’ll notice that the latest Fluent designs are characterized by rounded corners across objects and controls, and the new version of Edge is consistent with that guidance. Another example is that there isn't a pivotal focus on transparency in the latest Fluent designs, and surfaces of the new version of Edge reflects this.
This is not to say we will never consider incorporating such aspects into our designs going forward, or perhaps offering options to customize the look and feel, but there are no plans to incorporate these elements into the default experience for all users at this time. However, there are other design investments on our roadmap to continue aligning with the broader Fluent direction, such as updating icons and illustrations across the product. Please continue to send your feedback on the overall Edge look and feel, including preferences and pain points, as we are always open to learning more and updating our direction based on the needs of our users.
- The Microsoft Edge Team
1. Distinct colors/color themes - This would be very nice. The main thing is that currently, the dark theme isn't dark enough, and there's no way to disable the system theme color on the top bar without disabling it system-wide.
2. Transparency and material effect - I personally love the acrylic design and kind of miss it. However, there should be an on/off toggle if it is implemented. Additionally, the acrylic can either show the background behind the window or the actual webpage behind it. I personally prefer the latter. The acrylic could also be customizable if 1. is implemented. I don't think transparency/acrylic should be implemented outside of Windows 10 and macOS, though; it would be very out of place on Linux and Windows 7 and 8.
3. Less rounding - While the corners have been rounded, it's honestly not a lot. This is very much something that needs to be tested, with the tests being less corner rounding and no corner rounding. Feedback will be everything.
4. Smaller tab band - I actually like the current size. It might be fine if it was 10% smaller, but it's not really important. However, the right-click menu should be much smaller on devices without touch. Additionally, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make the address bar not expand across the entire length of the window, although that is something that would very much need testing and feedback. Lastly, some of the buttons could be a little bit smaller since they're currently very wide and spaced-out.
5. Animation - Y e s. Make sure that turning off animations for Windows also turns them off in the browser, though.
6. Reveal effect - This makes the browser more consistent with the operating system, so sure.
Other suggestions:
- Look into getting the overlay scrollbar back into the browser. The experimental flag kind of died since it hasn't officially been merged in, but it's much nicer than the normal scrollbar in my opinion.
- Give us the ability to set a custom background on new tab pages instead of just "Image of the Day." If you do implement this, please have the option to use the current desktop wallpaper (so the new tab page background matches up even with slideshow). Alternatively, there could be an option for the new tab page background to be background acrylic, showing whatever is behind the window. On top of that, there could be an acrylic setting for all image backgrounds.
- Make the InPrivate box blue and boxy; currently it's gray and very, very rounded, or at least the latest update broke the icon. Also, I like the old InPrivate icons (from legacy Edge) much better than the new ones.
- Actually, if it bothers you so much, you can install ANY theme from Chrome web store https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/themes
grab a .crx file of a theme;
in “Settings and more” (…) in the upper-right corner select Extensions and turn on "Developer mode" on the bottom left side;
drag and drop the .crx file here
✔ Done!
