On Thu, 3 Feb 2011, Syed Zaeem Hosain (Syed.Hosain at aeris.net) wrote: > Totally, TOTALLY agreed! > > I live with it, but detest it. :(
I agree as well; but these days it's easy to get seduced -- it's one downside of 16 million+ color, 1920x1280 displays. Another downside includes the well-intentioned GUI designers and marketeers who have never "lived" the task at hand. They might think they understand the task from their outside view, but they've never actually *worked* the task from the inside to any depth of time or experience. I was doing some design work on another SW product (non-Frame related database product, sorry!) and was thinking, "ooooh, this looks 'nice,'" and I appreciated the way "themes" and "color schemes" could be managed during development. But once past initial graphical design phase and the more I started working with actual data in this environment, the more I started to dislike the graphical component because somehow, the presentation of data was losing something. I have since chucked most of the "pretty" and "cool" in favor of data "intelligibility". To paraphrase Stuart, the GUI should fit the application and content; it should never, ever distract from the task at hand. YMMV. Frank Frank Stearns Associates | makers of IXgen(tm) for FrameMaker(r) franks at fsatools.com <mailto:franks at fsatools.com> TOLL FREE Voice (USA and Canada): 800-567-6421 USA Voice: 360-892-3970 http://www.fsatools.com > -----Original Message----- > From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at > lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Stuart Rogers > Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 7:57 AM > To: framers at lists.frameusers.com; kverma at adobe.com > Subject: FM grey GUI [WAS: Windows 7 - Snap] > > On 03/02/2011 10:04 AM, mkopen wrote: > > the new grey Stalin gothic, I mean, Adobe GUI > > <rant> > > Bang on, Mike. I'm also addressing this message to Kapil Verma, who was > recently introduced as FM's product manager. The low-contrast, monochrome > GUI in FM 9 is not just butt-ugly, it's HARD TO USE. It GETS IN THE WAY. It > PREVENTS ME FROM EASILY ACHIEVING MY GOALS. > > There may be a valid argument for low-contrast grey interfaces in programs > like Illustrator and Photoshop, where the user's perception of colours in the > working document could be adversely influenced by colours and contrasts in > the GUI. But FM is NOT a graphics design program. The precaution of > eliminating colour and contrast in the GUI, if that's what it is, is > misplaced, unjustified, and highly counterproductive. > > Or if it's a marketing decision, originating in the "imperative" that Adobe > products must all look the same to protect "the brand," remember that Henry > Ford's user-defying mantra, "Any customer can have a car painted any color > that he wants so long as it is black" has been discredited as a marketing > strategy for an awfully long time. > > I strongly recommend, Kapil, that you call together the graphic designers > (and marketing "branders") who have obviously had overwhelming influence on > this GUI, thank them for their efforts, and politely show them the door. > Then get some USER INTERACTION experts and USABILITY experts on board and set > them to undoing the damage that the artsy/marketsy folks have inflicted. > > The world (of technical writing) would be a better place. > > </rant> > > Thanks, > > -- > Stuart Rogers > Technical Communicator > Phoenix Geophysics Limited > 3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 3 > Toronto, ON, Canada M1W 3K5 > +1 (416) 491-7340 x 325 > > http://www.phoenix-geophysics.com > _______________________________________________ > > > You are currently subscribed to framers as Syed.Hosain at aeris.net. > > Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com > or visit > http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/syed.hosain%40aeris.net > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. > > _______________________________________________ > > > You are currently subscribed to framers as franks at fsatools.com. > > Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com > or visit > http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/franks%40fsatools.com > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. > >
