Microsoft’s ribbon interface is one of the most creative (and successful) interfaces I have worked with in Windows-based software. It was introduced several years ago by Microsoft in its Office suite as a replacement for the standard Windows toolbars. At its core, the ribbon replaces menus and toolbars with tabs, each with a list of commands.
Up through Word 2003, users were forced to hunt through tiny icons and tooltips in visible toolbars or search for more obscure commands hidden in menus.
The ribbon changes this by giving more estate to more popular commands. Since users are most likely to look in the left center of the toolbar below the tab, for example, any of the ‘most used’ commands reside there.
In addition to making these commands easier to find, some edits (like styling in Microsoft Word) include drop down galleries that allow you to even preview a style on your text by hovering over it---before you even apply it.
Many users responded to the change to the Ribbon very positively, praising Microsoft for adding all sorts of new functionality to Office; the truth is, most the functionality wasn’t new! The Ribbon just brought it out to the user. That’s the sign of a great interface.
More info about the Ribbon can be found at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA100898951033.aspx.
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