The release date for the Windows 8 public beta is rapidly approaching - most guesses are for the end of this month - and I'm really looking forward to installing and using Windows 8 as my primary operating system.

I did the same when the Windows 7 public beta was made available and that software caused me very few issues, so I feel confident that Microsoft will deliver a great product that most people will be able to happily use on a daily basis.

Looking at Windows 8 from a builder's perspective, almost all of the marketing and communications towards developers and designers from Microsoft about Windows 8 has been focused on Metro style apps: what they are, how to make them and in which ways they'll be delivered; that is, through the Windows Store. And of that information, most of it has been directed towards developers.

So, what about designing Windows 8 desktop applications?

Overall, any official information from Microsoft about desktop applications in Windows 8 has been scarce. For those of us who design custom Windows desktop software for a living, this lack of detail has been disconcerting. What's the future of Windows 8 desktop applications? What are these applications supposed to look like? What themes and default controls are we supposed to use? What rules and standards do we need to follow to ensure our custom software fits seamlessly into the Windows 8 desktop environment?

Since Windows 8 was revealed at Build, there's been a number of commercial products released that bring many aspects of the Metro design language to desktop apps. Metro-inspired, pre-packaged controls like DevExpress' DXv2 (see screenshot below) and Telerik's RadControls for WinForms are some key examples here.

As much as these products are beautifully designed, highly polished, and well, generally just look awesome, I remain unconvinced that they are the definitive future of Windows 8 desktop applications as a whole. This is because, with desktop apps, users need precision control.

With desktop apps, people need to handle multiple windows at once, manage files across the system and perform many different types of actions at any time. In my experience, the Metro style app interface style is more geared towards consumption than creation. Great for a dashboard and perfect for simple tasks like browsing, typing and viewing (such as on a Windows Phone or in a basic app on the PC) but not so hot for more complex decision making and complicated system-user interactions.

Now, you can see where Microsoft has been applying some of the key Metro guidelines to Windows 8 itself. For instance, the file copy/transfer window that Microsoft shared on Building Windows 8 is a clear nod towards Metro in its simple grid, colours and language.

Another good example is the Windows 8 Task Manager as also shared via Building Windows 8. The typography and layout really speak to the Metro design principles.

From all of the reading I've done - which as I mention above, is limited in its volume - the way in which Microsoft is applying Metro (in its minimalistic way) to Windows 8 desktop applications is how us designers should also be applying it to our own work. That is, squeezing in Metro where it makes sense from an information perspective, but sticking with "standard" Windows design elements for the rest of our application interface. The question for designers is how much of each do you apply and what is the recommended ratio between Metro and desktop elements?

While no one is going to stop you from bringing the whole visual language, presentation and interaction model of Metro into custom WinForms or WPF apps, that doesn't always mean you should nor will it be the go-to solution in every situation. I just don't see how it could. Along those same lines, if the WinRT default design is Metro - at least, I think it is! - what does the new standard of WinForms or WPF application look like? This?

What I'd like Microsoft to do is to completely pull back the curtain and provide designers of their desktop applications a clear vision, strategy and designer-oriented documentation for how we're supposed to move forward. I love coming up with totally custom interfaces, but I also want whatever I create to still look and feel like a true Windows app. I, as much as any designer, want my Windows 8 desktop applications to be the best they can be; we simply need some crystal-clear guidance for how to do that.

When I say "guidance", I'm talking about supplied templates and exact measurements from Microsoft, like desktop applications' recommended margins, padding, alignment and spacing plus colours, vocabulary, typography and icons. They've done a very good job with this on Windows Phone. But when it comes to Windows itself, this is the only MSDN article that I can find regarding margins, padding and spacing, yet it doesn't even include any numbers! All there is are simply vague references to what those terms mean. In this User Interface Text article, Microsoft actually details font sizes. That's exactly the level of information that we need, just much, much more of it.

As you'd expect, Apple provides extensive documentation for user experience and user interfaces in their Mac OS X Human Interface Guidelines. Compared to the Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines, Apple's version is much more visual, better laid out, has more detail and is way easier to understand. For instance, first look at this section on Windows Frames from Microsoft and then compare to the Apple documentation on windows. Apple puts this all into a single section packed with information, while Microsoft scatters it throughout their MSDN website for designers to seek out and discover on their own.

Let's hope that Windows 8 takes a cue from Apple and does the same thing for its latest and greatest operating system: cohesive, consistent and clear, designer-oriented Windows desktop application guidelines.

With the success of Windows Phone and how even diehard Apple users (many of whom are designers) actually like how the phone looks and works, it's easy to see that Microsoft is onto something big. At this stage in the game, with Windows 8 and its slew of desktop applications coming very soon, they need to capitalize on that momentum and keep attracting and talking to designers. Everybody, and I mean everybody - designers, developers and users in general - will reap the benefits of such a move.