Microsoft Design Language (or MDL), previously known as Metro, is a design language created by Microsoft. This design language is focused on typography and simplified icons, absence of clutter, increased content to chrome ratio ("content before chrome"), and basic geometric shapes. Early examples of MDL principles can be found in Encarta 95 and MSN 2.0. The design language evolved in Windows Media Center and Zune and was formally introduced as Metro during the unveiling of Windows Phone 7. It has since been incorporated into several of the company's other products, including the Xbox 360 system software and the Xbox One system software, Windows 8, Windows Phone, and Outlook.com. Before the "Microsoft design language" title became official, Microsoft executive Qi Lu referred to it as the modern UI design language in his MIXX conference keynote speech. According to Microsoft, "Metro" has always been a codename and was never meant as a final product, but news websites attribute this change to trademark issues. Microsoft Design Language 2 (MDL2) was developed alongside Windows 10. In 2017, the Fluent Design language extended it. History The design language is based on the design principles of classic Swiss graphic design. Early glimpses of this style could be seen in Windows Media Center for Windows XP Media Center Edition, which favored text as the primary form of navigation, as well as early concepts of Neptune. This interface carried over into later iterations of Media Center. In 2006, Zune refreshed its interface using these principles. Microsoft designers decided to redesign the interface and with more focus on clean typography and less on UI chrome. These principles and the new Zune UI were carried over to Windows Phone first released in 2010 (from which much was drawn for Windows 8). The Zune Desktop Client was also redesigned with an emphasis on typography and clean design that was different from the Zune's previous Portable Media Center based UI. Flat colored "live tiles" were introduced into the design language during the early Windows Phones studies. In an interview it was explained that different Microsoft divisions use each other's products, and the extension of Metro was not a company-wide approach but instead teams such as Xbox liking Metro and adapting it for its own products. Many of Microsoft's divisions ended up adopting Metro. Microsoft Design Language 2 (MDL2) was developed alongside Windows 10. This version introduced a new set of widgets, including