Interface Design and UX Thread - How our App Looks

[gracehjs]

Thanks Gare

[Gare]

You're welcome, Grace and I have a suggestion for all, to help finish the look of the UI and all that:

Keep background elements neutral in color. If you insist on a gradient, make the subtle transition from 65% warm grey to 25% warm grey, or add a slight tint of hue to it.

Remember that the control are the "stars of the composition. In order of visual importance, it's the logo (what the program is), the controls, and then the "chrome", the padding, the background.

Larry offered a lot of compelling, attractive, and distinctive color schemes. Dont' go with empirical color opposites the way some of us were taught in school. Use a primary color as part of your building process, then a complementary color (not an opposite, but one that supports the primary color), and then an accent color to call out something visually.

Here's a riff on some of Larry's schemes. Now, the colors might not strike you as perfect "companions" and some can be lighter and less saturated, but look at the "chemistry" between the groups of colors. Use this for inspiration as far as the entire UI goes. You only need 3 colors out of these swatch samples, I believe, and they've been calculated by a friend and programmer, Sivam Krish, not necessarily to make "wallpaper"—bland pastels of the same hue, but rather to inspire and provoke the audience at first glance. They don't clash—they just have a profound relationship the more you look at any combination within the group.



I haven't given this 100% of the time or consideration it deserves, but everyone, please bear in mind that colors and color combinations speak to your audience in any way you've arranged them. Color is a language: decide what it is you want to say!

My Best,

Gary