360 owner shows how he would simplify the console’s interface.

Welcome to Gaming Culture, 1UP’s regular in-depth feature on game memes, viral videos, Flash games, or whatever else happens to set the Interwebs ablaze. Have you seen a meme that deserves some exploration? Drop a 1UP message to let us know.

Though the Xbox 360 dashboard does what it’s designed to do — get players to their friends or games — some users have found it a bit obtuse. When news came out that Microsoft wouldn’t be updating the dashboard this spring in favor of working on performance tweaks, Mike Phillips of The Fanboys Lunchcast, an independently-operated game podcast, started to consider what the system’s interface would need to make it more user-friendly. "We all started talking about what we thought really needed to happen — more or less a reboot of the dash," he tells 1UP. But rather than simply gripe, Phillips took it a step further. "That discussion led me to start tinkering around in Photoshop, sort of putting my money where my mouth is."

The result is a dashboard that’s dramatically and conceptually different. Phillips started by mapping out the amount of space allocated to the user, advertising, and interactivity, as well as unused space. In his redesign, he adjusted the ratio of user-to-advertising space and eliminated unused space. He doesn’t suggest that his way is the only one — or even the best way. "I really just wanted to have a means to demonstrate the ideas I had for the dashboard and solicit some from the community," he says.

More of the story,
click image