Photo of Michael WestMichael

Freelance Project2018

Microsoft Store Content

Read Lessons from the Dark Side

Reimagining the Microsoft Store with new new featured apps layout and improved editorial content.

A tablet displaying a Microsoft Store concept.

I worked with Ben Fox at User Camp to help reimagine the Microsoft Store with a new featured apps layout and improved editorial content. The aim was to take the best parts of the new Mac App Store in macOS 10.14 Mojave and apply them to the Store on Windows.

If you’re interested in reading more about this, I’d highly recommend taking a look at Ben’s blog post over on Medium: Lessons from the Dark Side.

Discovery

There needed to be a way for users to discover the new editorial content. It made most sense to replace the existing hero elements on the Apps tab with stories about apps, developers, and more.

The Apps tab homepage has been repurposed as a hub to discover brand-new content from the Microsoft Store editors.
The Apps tab homepage has been repurposed as a hub to discover brand-new content from the Microsoft Store editors.

Featured content

Next, there needed to be a way of presenting these new collections and feature pieces. The design here mimics the Mac App Store, with a hero element on the left and scrollable content on the right. Users can install apps directly from the featured pages.

A featured collection of three apps.
A featured collection of three apps.

Apps can also be featured on their own:

A single feature piece. The same left-panel hero image is used, but now with a floating card giving more info about the app.
A single feature piece. The same left-panel hero image is used, but now with a floating card giving more info about the app.