Windows 11 Task Switchers
Redesigned Windows OS Taskview, Alt+Tab, and Snap Assist for a more modern and cohesive Windows 11 experience.
Context
Task switchers are surfaces in the OS where a user can find and switch to a different open window. These surfaces include Taskview, Alt+Tab, and Snap Assist (window arranging). Along with the rest of Windows, the task switchers underwent a visual rejuvenation to give it a modern look and feel for Windows 11.
Role
Sole design owner of the Windows 11 task switchers. Redesigned and implemented the new W11 Taskview, Alt+Tab, and Snap Assist experiences.
Process
For this work, I partnered with the W11 design system team to create new UI patterns, styles, and textures that can be used across the OS. This included the addition of a light theme switcher UI, which the previous W10 light theme experience lacked. I also took this redesign opportunity to improve the user experience beyond the visual style.
Designing a Cohesive System
A goal of this work was to design a more cohesive visual system across all switchers. I designed and worked with cross functional partners to implement a consistent window preview card that scales across each surface.
Learning from user feedback
Windows 11 launched in Oct 2021 with the redesigned switcher experiences. This version included a new full screen alt+tab experience, designed to reduce visual distractions and align with the full screen Task View experience.
Users described the full screen alt+tab experience as jarring, and felt as though it took them out of context. Previously driven by UI consistency, we had underestimated the value of staying in context when making a quick window switch.
We also received user feedback that the keyboard focus state, that shows which item is selected, was hard to spot quickly. The focus state was designed by the visual system team to feel more lightweight than the previous style. With this feedback, I designed a switcher specific keyboard focus state, optimized to be seen within seconds when quickly switching.
UI explorations:
The updated experience was released in the Windows 11 2022 Update
Media: This change to Alt + Tab in Windows 11 is making people very happy
