Cool user interfaces?

I need some ideas for user interfaces and I'd like to know, how you would want a stunning UI to be looking like.
Thanks.

Depends on who you are aiming the app at, and of course, what the app is.

I would say though:

Easy to use
Logical layout
Grouped functionality

Remember the old acronym... KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."

- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

RobbieCrusoe wrote:



Remember the old acronym... KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

I was in general thinking of graphical user interfaces... and not of a simple one...

It should be 4 chrome spheres manipulated by twitching your ears.

DCMonkey wrote:

It should be 4 chrome spheres manipulated by twitching your ears.

Hmmm... sounds great
But...

• We haven't 4 dimensional screens (yeah still 2D )
• How can an application twitch an ear?

Erm... say... target anyone but those under 13.

Dodo wrote:



RobbieCrusoe wrote:  Remember the old acronym... KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

I was in general thinking of graphical user interfaces... and not of a simple one...

?? 

"and not of a simple one..."

big mistake...

if the task / process is complex and the UI refelcts the work then look for a better model - like an abstraction

to much is just to much...

study design and how humans intereact.

a few "semi well known" bits:

phone numbers are 7 digits in the usa / north america
area codes are 3
zip codes are 5
social secuirty numbers 9

why?  it's not by accident, the patterns are that way so folks can remember them.

ask max of 10 items.

figuerres wrote:


?? 

"and not of a simple one..."

big mistake...

if the task / process is complex and the UI refelcts the work then look for a better model - like an abstraction

to much is just to much...

study design and how humans intereact.

Erm... I didn't say I'd confuse users...
A complex GUI can be simple to the outside...
I'd more rather like to know how you'd want a UI to interact with you, how it should look and feel like...

It should be consistent. (within itself, and preferably with the environment.)
It should animate to indicate changing state, but not otherwise.
It should have clear, easily identifiable, and distinct icons.
It should show information pertinent to the task at hand... but nothing surplus.
It should expose things I never thought the system could do (but only if they're relevant to the task at hand.)

I mean... Come on!!! You want to know what a cool user interface would look like? Study human-computer interaction, know what the software will do, and find similar apps that do the same job, study them and find out why they work or don't.

That's kinda like saying: "what should a cool car look like?"... kinda too vague to be a useful question and get meaningful answers... I mean, "what should a cool sports car look like?" is considerably better... but "what should a cool small two-seater sports car with sufficient luggage space for a weekend away look like?" is much better.

One my favorite quotes that I always think of was from a behind the scenes interview about level design for the game Splinter Cell. The designers were talking about early on how things work. So, if opening a door is one way; it has to remain that way throughout the game.

Whatever you decide upon (and certain KISS is the best), just remain consistant. Going to different pages should never result in unepxtec navigation behavior or placement.

And like Joel Spolsky says in User INterface Design For Programmers; you're kind of stuck with the expected UI. Which is why every word processing program looks pretty much like Word. It kinf of sucks from a design perspective, but you just can't do something totally out of the blue. Not that it wouldn't be really cool, it's just that people will reject it.

Good luck!!

DCMonkey wrote:

It should be 4 chrome spheres manipulated by twitching your ears.

Sounds like an interesting paradigm shift. But I bet you haven't really thought about accessiblity issues. What if I'm a UFC fighter with cauliflower ears? Huh?

Hi, There are some themes for WPF Controls at http://www.xamltemplates.net let me know what you think.

Dont make me think! best guidline for a ui

Pace said:

Dont make me think! best guidline for a ui

I've seen some "simple" UI... Very simple... Very much simple... Extremely stupid. Stupidity kills.
Never follow stupid "KISS" rule! Listen for uncle Einstein.

Pace said:

Dont make me think! best guidline for a ui

"One button to rule'em all"?

BlackTiger said:

Pace said:

*snip*

"One button to rule'em all"?

necro thread...