Windows 8 is great. Following the initial "where have all the options gone?!" shock I quickly settled down with snapping windows to the side, context sensitive menus and easily sourcing apps from the store. However, I'm a stickler for a tidy computer and the one thing that's really been niggling away at me is the appearance of the start screen once you get a few non-store programs linked on there. Whilst apps installed via the (love it or hate it) shiny new store interface generally come with Metro (sorry, Modern UI) tiles, any programs installed in the traditional manner get lumped with a plain tile with the default logo in the middle. This somewhat undermines the beauty and simplicity of the Windows 8 interface.
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| The Windows 8 start screen is a massive departure from the list-layout of bygone operating systems, with a fresh look that's clearly been designed with touch devices in mind. However, ugly tiles for user-installed programs detract from the overall aesthetic appeal. |
Enter OblyTile, a free tool for creating Windows 8 tiles provided you have an appropriate image and the program path. While any bitmap or vector graphics suite can be used to make the tile icons I stuck with my tried and tested favourite, Inkscape. This free (GNU General Public License) software has all the features expected of a commercial vector graphics suite like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw, but without the pocket emptying side-effects.
Windows 8 tiles are characterised by simple, white icons on monochrome backgrounds, with Microsoft opting for a handfull of bright colours, but it's up to you if you stick with this theme. In most cases I found it possible to create icons from simple overlaying of circles and rectangles onto template icons I found online. Also, off-setting icons slightly above the tile mid-point gave a more pleasing look. One nice feature of OblyTile is the ability to add program arguments, so in the case of the shutdown button I was able to specify the shutdown mode (anyone who's typed "shutdown" into command line will know there are plenty of options to choose from).
After a couple of hours of drawing and hunting for the relevant program files, my start menu looks much more like I had imagined it would when drooling over pre-release screenshots of Windows 8. As with many products, the final thing you get in your hands never seems as slick or shiny as in the adverts, but at least in the case of the Windows 8 start screen you can go some way to rectifying this.
Below is a collection of the icons I've created for my start screen. They're all in 256 x 256 resolution and feel free to download them. You can also find my Inkscape file here. Like a good scientist, I've also included a list of sources for the icons where relevant and noted any key points for each tile below.
After a couple of hours of drawing and hunting for the relevant program files, my start menu looks much more like I had imagined it would when drooling over pre-release screenshots of Windows 8. As with many products, the final thing you get in your hands never seems as slick or shiny as in the adverts, but at least in the case of the Windows 8 start screen you can go some way to rectifying this.
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| With custom tiles courtesy of OblyTile and a bit of trial and error in Inkscape the patchwork beauty of the Windows 8 start screen is restored. |
Below is a collection of the icons I've created for my start screen. They're all in 256 x 256 resolution and feel free to download them. You can also find my Inkscape file here. Like a good scientist, I've also included a list of sources for the icons where relevant and noted any key points for each tile below.
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| Blender (template icon from blender.org) |
GIMP (template icon from iconarchive.com) |
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| Google Chrome (template icon from news.cnet.com) |
Inkscape (Icon from commons.wikimedia.org) |
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| MATLAB (template icon from en.wikipedia.org) |
Media Center (template icon from blog.gadgethelpline.com) |
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| Paint (template icon from iconspedia.com) |
Screensaver (Note - .scr screensaver files located in "C:\Windows\System32") |
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| Shutdown (Note - executable path located at "C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe", use argument "-p" for immediate shutdown) |
Spotify (template icon from digitalbookworld.com) |
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| Steam | VLC Player |
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| Microsoft Excel | Microsoft PowerPoint |
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| Microsoft Word |
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