On Wed, 2011-03-02 at 22:49 +0000, Fons Adriaensen wrote: > On Wed, Mar 02, 2011 at 04:58:39PM -0500, David Robillard wrote: > > > > Another example is a visual EQ as the one found in Jamin, where you both > > > see the > > > live spectrum and can adjust frequency bands level. > > > > Yawn. Personally I've always considered my ears better judges of audio > > than pixellated waveforms on a screen. > > Here (for once) we do agree :-) There's probably no worse way > to show what a compressor is doing than showing the input and > output waveforms. A simple bargraph showing the current gain > - or better, the gain range over a short period - will do fine. > > I've been demoing high end mixers (Digico) to experienced sound > engineers for some time. These mixers can show a graphical > representation of the EQ etc. The first thing these potential > customers ask is if those displays can be disabled - they just > don't want them. > > Good UI design for audio apps means something entirely different: > > - Something you can look at for extended periods. This means color > schemes that don't strain your eyes, the right amount of detail, > and nothing that becomes distracting by moving or flashing all > the time without providing essential information. > > - A layout that is logical to someone who understands what an app > or plugin is doing. A clear distinction between things you set > up once and forget and those that you may want to adjust more > frequently. > > - A presentation that allows you to check if things are what you > expect they are at a glance, and even without being aware of it. > > - The ability to find anything you'd need routinely without going > through menus, dialogs, or having to move or resize windows. > If you have to modify the display significantly in order to find > some control or action, it should be possible to return to the > previous one with just a single action. > > - Showing correct and useful information rather than eye candy.
Bang on. /This/ is the kind of UI stuff that actually matters. If you gave someone actually interested in making music or doing pro audio (or...) a choice between: 1) A gorgeous, fancy, skinned, 3D, high performance UI with visualization and all the rest - that is awful be these criteria 2) A UI that is superb by these criteria - and is made out of the most basic plain widgets imaginable Their choice is not odd. -dr _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-dev mailing list [email protected] http://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-dev
