Desktops
Designing new virtual desktop capabilities and introducing a new way to quickly switch between desktops.
Vice President of Product Management, Carmen Zlateff, introducing new desktop feature for the Windows 11 launch.
Role
Lead UX / UI Designer
Context
The ability to switch and create desktops has always existed in Task View. With this work, I designed a way to quickly switch desktops from anywhere, no longer requiring a user to enter Task View first.
As part of the Windows 11 switcher rejuvenation, I designed a Task View experience that brought desktops to a more prominent location above the taskbar, aligning it to the location of the quick desktop switching experience.
Process
The desktop switcher combines two existing experiences, desktops in task view and the taskbar hover preview. This raised the challenge of which UI should the switcher align to, desktops in task view or taskbar hover preview. The final UI solution combined the two. The Task View desktop bar was scaled to align to the height and other values of the taskbar previews. I also utilized the taskbar app active states treatment and backplate patterns.
Windows 11 launched in Oct 2021 with desktops improvements and new desktop quick switcher
Media:
Windows 11 multitasking features to help you be more productive than ever
How to simplify multitasking with Windows 11
Desktops featured in Windows 11 promotions