What Is The Best Windows UI Toolkit For Styles And Effects?

The Windows user interface has changed numerous times over the years, sometimes quite dramatically. The Windows design drastically evolved from the very simple outlines and colors of Windows 3.11 in 1993 to the gloriously advanced Windows UI toolkit of Windows 11. The latest version of Windows brought us the new Fluent Design System, a revamp of Windows Metro that includes guidelines for the designs and interactions used within software designed for all Windows 10 devices and platforms. In this webinar, Jim McKeeth will walk us through the evolution of Windows Design and will dive into the latest changes in Windows Fluent Design System.

How did Windows design evolve over time?

In this video, we will revisit all the five eras of windows UI starting with Windows Classic which includes Windows 3.11 which notably features a very simple set of outlines, very few colors with 16 to 256 color display. In Windows 95, we were introduced to shaded bevels for a slight 3D effect while Windows 98 introduced us to Gradient title bars. Windows Luna is the next era of Windows design that was introduced in Windows XP and provided us with gradients for a greater 3D rounded look.

This is eventually followed by Windows Aero which came with Windows Vista which added transparency and glass effects. Next to it is the Windows Metro which is notable for its flat primary color designs, a UI that was also applied for Windows Phone and Xbox console. Developed in 2017 by Microsoft, the Windows Fluent Design System is considered to be a revamp of Metro that provides an evolution of all the UI systems of Windows.

What are the latest updates with Windows Fluent UI?

Interestingly, Fluent Design preserves the clean look and feel of Metro featuring its signature simple flat-esque design while renewing the visuals that Aero had including the blurred translucency, drop shadow, and highlighting effects of the mouse cursor. The video will also walk us through the new design principles of Windows 11 as well as the signature experiences including Geometry, Layering and Elevation, Color, Materials, Iconography and Typography, and Motion.

McKeeth will also share with us how to make your applications look the best on the latest version of Windows 11. This includes the use of Windows VCL Styles. Delphi and C++ Builder included the new Windows 11 VCL styles that are available to GetIt Package manager which comes with a dark mode and light mode. Some useful components for Delphi were mentioned in this video including the Skia4Delphi which we’ve seen from the previous DelphiCon webinar. To know more about the latest Windows UI changes for Windows 11, feel free to watch the video below.