There are an impressive number of sessions to choose among at //build/ and lots of details to start filling in. It’s a good thing that the sessions will be recorded and available on-demand later, usually within 24 hours, on the Channel 9 //build/ page.

If you’re planning your session strategy carefully and want to spend as much time as possible learning about Blend and visual design topics, here are the sessions the Blend team is participating in:

479T A lap around Visual Studio 11 Express for Metro style apps using C++
Marriott Platinum 2 on Wed, Sep 14 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Joanna Mason and Vikas Bhatia
Windows 8 comes with a brand new Metro style app experience where native developers and designers can work in parallel. Ones in behavioral aspects and the others in UI. This talk offers an end-to-end view of the developer experience for this kind of app, from the solution creation to the marketplace publication.
Code: TOOL-479T, Tags: Visual Studio,C++, Metro style apps

486T A deep dive into Expression Blend for designing Metro style apps using HTML
ACC 210 B on Thu, Sep 15 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Christian Schormann
Learn how to use Expression Blend to visually construct, style and layout Metro style apps using HTML for Windows 8. In this session, we will demonstrate how Expression Blend makes it possible to create a better user experience with greater productivity. We’ll start with semantic markup and JavaScript-generated content, and then we will demonstrate how to use Expression Blend to customize the user experience for Windows 8.
Code: TOOL-486T, Tags: Metro style apps,HTML5 and JavaScript, Expression Blend

504T A deep dive into Visual Studio 11 Express for designing Metro style apps using XAML
ACC 213 B on Thu, Sep 15 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Joanna Mason and Unni Ravindranathan
A great Windows 8 app starts with a great user experience. Come to this session to see how Visual Studio 11 Express enables you to take full advantage of the rich platform features, efficient workflow and tools that maximize your productivity and creativity when designing Metro style apps using XAML.
Code: TOOL-504T, Tags: Visual Studio, Metro style apps, XAML

514T Debugging your Metro style apps using HTML
ACC 210 B on Thu, Sep 15 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Erik Saltwell and Jeff Fisher
In this session, you’ll deep dive into debugging your Metro style apps using HTML, including how to handle first-chance exceptions, how to debug on the simulator, local machines and remote machines, how to use Blend to see your app running in multiple-view states and resolutions, how to use the DOM Explorer and the JavaScript Console and more! If you want to chase the bugs out of your Metro style apps using HTML, don’t miss this talk!
Code: TOOL-514T, Tags: Debugging, Metro style apps, HTML5 and JavaScript

Big Picture Sessions at //build/

By the way, if you missed the big picture sessions, you can catch them on Channel 9.

8 traits of great Metro style apps by Jensen Harris

Platform for Metro style apps by Aleš Holeček & John Sheehan

Tools for building Metro style apps by Kieran Mockford & Chris Sells

Cheers,

Lori & Kirupa