Introduction
Some developers I know are really good at design. I'm not bad, but I know my limits. In general, I try to pick a template framework from a library (like bootstrap for web) and use that as a base to work from. In most cases, the design is not a core requirement for a developer, however, every now and again something comes along where you sit up and take notice and decide you need to sharpen your design skills. The increased focus on gaming, and technologies that are aligned to it, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, suddenly bring the importance of design to the forefront for developers. This post is a quick heads up about an upcoming Windows 10 release due for general launch on April 11, 2017, that's worth checking out.
This release is called 'Creators update ' and is firmly focused on the design aspect of things. It has some really cool features that are worth checking out if you are in any way interested in new technologies that involve multimedia assets.
Naturally, this release includes various patches, enhanced security, etc., but the release name gives more than a big hint as to its target focus. Creators update brings many interesting concepts to the Windows OS, such as a new version of the venerable MS Paint, that now allows you to create silly doodles as always, but now in 3D!
If you're a gamer, or a kid in your house is into Minecraft, you can take drawings you make in Paint 3D and place them right into the game .... that's quite cool. In the future, it also seems that you will be able to take the doodles you make and have them 3D printed for you.
As well as the gaming and creator features, there are also many improvements that have been made to the EDGE browser. These include better TAB operation, the ability to save groups of pages for viewing later and more.
Before I finish, one more mention - if you are into gaming, you most likely know about the 'twitch' service - it's a live streaming system for gamers, where you can share your gaming fun with your friends. This version of Windows now has its own streaming recording for gamers built-in. It's called a 'beam broadcast' and when you start playing, if you want, your Xbox gamer friends can be alerted to join in the fun.
Summary
You can read more about this interesting design/gaming/development opportunity at the
Microsoft blog.