Review of
Thomas Hayes
Posts: 1,164
It's been awhile but I was wondering if anybody would like to post and share with the rest of us any panel designs that you are really proud of. I love to see what others are doing in regards to design and user interface.
0
Comments
I can hack already existing graphics, and can even dress things up if I need to to make them look nice. But I can't originate a design and complete it ... well, at least it's not my strong suit. I probably could if I really had to, and expectations weren't very high
JNV Lady's room? This is a little over the top for a public Lady's room so what's JNV?
I'm smelling some "freetime" coming up - so I might try and do something from start to finish.
This looks a lot like the XBMC interface. Did you manage to interface with it?
I can't find the time to start creating a module, if you have one, would you care to share?
A question to everyone who make their own designs . . . what do you use? I've been using Adobe (previously Macromedia) Fireworks for at least six years now so to say I'm comfortable with it would be accurate, but see a lot of people using Photoshop for their designs . . . that program seems to have a steep learning curve I don't have the time for.
--John
... in case anyone was wondering
--John
Base layout
DVD transport
DVD menu controls
Source selections
And as for how it looks when it comes together:
Hi fidelity mockup (annotated)
@jjames, re: tools
I use GIMP for any high fidelity graphics, inkscape for vector work and iconography and Adobe Fireworks for 'sketches' and design prototypes. I'm a massive fan of open source gear and try to use in my work wherever possible but have not been able to find anything in the OSS world that remotely approaches fireworks in terms of functionality and flexibility when it comes to quickly mocking up designs. Having the ability to have a component library, easily manipulate entire classes of elements in one go (ie property inheritance) and having an interactivity layer that allows a sketchy looking mock up to move between pages and different states cannot be beat.
Kim: Do you do this for all your clients, or just for courts?
I would change the volume slider for up/down buttons and only use the slider for feedback, but that's just me.
Looks great!
I'm currently employed by the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General so I can definitively say that yes, I do do 'this' for 100% of my current clients.
I assume that by 'this' though you mean the sketches. When doing any UI design it is the most important part, and the section of the design process where it is critical to have any ideas on paper or in another communicable form. Once high res mockups start being put together it becomes a right pain to make changes to the UI. Additionally clients (and most importantly any participants in usability tests) will focus on the aesthetics of the mockup rather than the underlying structure and interaction patterns once designs they are presented with start to look like 'finished' products. Don't get me wrong, visual design is important, however you can't polish a turd - some people will try to roll it in glitter though.
You can't polish a turd?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI
It's not XBMC exactement, but based on it. I'm partly interfacing with it. But I don't think I can get the covers to work like that in an AMX panel. Starting with an iPad first (writing an app for it as we speak). The normal feedback shouldn't be a much of a problem for AMX. Unfortunately you have to interface over HTTP for most stuff (they're working on a JSON Library). commands look something like: http://my-xbmc:80/httpcommand/index.php?cmd="XBMC.Play" for the HTTP api. haven't found a way to do this from AMX though. I'm checking out the source of the Android remote to see how they do it.
The company I work for. And it's not the actual lady's room. But a room for ladies. (I know confusing) But it's basically a room to 'satisfy' the ladies =]
I just sat here nodding, while reading your post. I do my sketches on paper first, then work them out on the computer and then I start with the visual. I personally use photoshop/illustrator for this though. I've tried using GIMP & Inkscape. Inkscape I like, but it's not as powerful as Illustrator (though illustrator is also bloated for what I want to do). GIMP just wasn't all that useful. Also having a Intuos4 is a big + especially when going from sketch to diagram.
You can polish a turd, but a turd is a turd. Is what he probably meant :P.
I'd like to see some more interfaces from others! Come on guys, I know you have them. Don't feel shame, you can only learn by posting them here!
Nerieru, sounds like an 'interesting' project... you guys hiring?
Hey guys,
check out the design cooked up by one of our graphic designers, i know its pretty basic but i want to know your suggestions so that we can improve on the design.
Thanks
As a provider of system software to DEALERS for resale to end users, the appeal of the panel design is judged by the DEALER before the customer ever sees it. And the (often younger) dealer's visual capabilities and technical prowess are frequently a poor match for the customer... leading to a dealer requirement for panels the customer will have trouble with.
And for most customers, asking what they want on their panels is like asking first-time airline passengers how the cockpit gauges should be laid out. If they offer an opinion at all, it's seldom based on actual understanding. In our product, we deal with this with user reconfigurable buttons for all options. No choice requires getting a programmer or panel editor to revise later.
It's indeed a room to aesthetically please the feminine side. Of course it's not manually operated as that would be near impossible. Mmm, the snapshots I took are quite outdated + the room isn't done yet. I can give you a general impression though. So I'll snap some shots after work today.
2 cents, j/k. Well considering I'm already working on it we could throw a group together.
Depends, which project do you find 'interesting' in particular?f
The issue isn't exactly the way it looks (but it is, I will get back to that). The biggest issue is that your eyes are all over the place. There's no focal point in the design, one item doesn't seem to be more important than the other, basically it's too open. People won't know where to go with their eyes. Changing the placement of certain items certainly will help with that. However aesthetically it needs some changes to highlight certain items and to make others fall back far enough. I'd make a suggestion to your Graphic Designer to take up some GUI courses, read some books etc.
This shouldn't be that much of an issue John, you can make the design look elegant while maintaining good readability.
The key to good UI design is to do what someone expect and exceeding their expectations at the same time. This has nothing to do with age.
It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.
Very nice Nerieru!