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
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