Fluent Design coming to Windows 10 win32 apps

Microsoft Fluent Design System coming to classic desktop apps

Microsoft is bringing its Fluent Designs System to classic desktop applications.

At its Build 2018 developer conference, Microsoft has been making a lot of announcements, including news related to its Fluent Design System. According to a new article at the official Microsoft website, Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president of Windows, announced that Fluent Design is no longer a system limited to Microsoft Store apps only, and soon developers will have access to it “regardless which UI stack you use.”

This means that soon developers will be able to implement Fluent Design to its classic desktop (win32) applications.

Now every organization can make beautiful solutions that empower your customers to do more. With UWP XAML Islands, you can access the more capable, flexible, powerful XAML controls regardless which UI stack you use—whether it’s Windows Forms, WPF, or native Win32. — The company explains.

The Fluent Design System was first introduced in 2017, and it’s an interface refresh for Windows 10, which brings a new set of rules to streamline the design of apps for PCs, tablets, phones, TVs, and mixed reality headsets. Basically, Windows 10 will get a new look with the addition of blur (acrylic), translucent, and animation effects.

Microsoft is focusing this new design system on light, depth, motion, material, and scale to deliver a more intuitive, responsive, and inclusive cross-device experiences and interactions.

The company is expected to unveil more details about Fluent Design coming to classic desktop apps and which features developers will be able to access during its Build 2018 conference.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.