Gustav Brock
Gustav at cactus.dk
Mon Jul 21 11:03:17 CDT 2008
Hi Rocky First, this is very difficult. If in doubt, study the Access samples available around. 95% look terrible as if no efforts in design and layout have been done. Second, a good design is extremely important. We as developers don't like it, but the fact is, that to the new user the appearance of your app is the first impression. In ten seconds he/she will decide if this looks trustworthy (professional) or not. If yes, your first battle is won; if no, you have to fight hard to convince the user. An excellent example I can find for you is SAP Business One, the baby of the SAP product line. This is what to expect for an app in the $ 1000-2000 per seat price range. Select "View the demo" here and study _all_ the small sessions. Notice the highlighting of the focused control: http://www.sap.com/asia/smallbusiness/solutions/demos/index.epx It follows all the guide lines I have collected through the years (no, SAP didn't call me) and most books on the topic list these too. Here are 10 major points: - Use a calm and absolutely consistent form layout. Stay away from any "smart" twists; chances are that the user can't see anything smart about it. - Don't ever use grey (except for decoration or the like). - Use pale colours of a limited palette except for text and icons. This palette and the guide lines for its use are so difficult to build that most people either can't or won't use the time needed for experiments and will be better off hiring a professional graphics artist. I'm not kidding - I spent two weeks for this alone for the app I'm currently developing moving between Windows XP and Vista. The final result will probably look "female". Don't be afraid of that. I always ask my female coworkers if they like what I have created. To me this test is a go or no-go. - Don't use 3D layout not to say shadows. For some reason this looks old fashioned and antique. - Use the features of Windows. There's no reason to put a Close button on a form as every user knows how to close a window the native way. - Don't use multi-level switch board forms with buttons. The user quickly gets lost. Use a treeview style or Outlook style menu system as even the novice user understands this right away and feel in control from the first minute. - Be very careful with fonts. There must be _very_ good reasons for using anything else than the standard Microsoft fonts sans serif. The new Segoe UI is very good as are the classic "Secure web fonts". - Be careful with background pictures. They often distract more than they add, colours may be hard to control, and they often "disturb" by drawing the attention of the user for no reason. - Don't be afraid of using screen estate. It's better to use a larger form where proportions can be held nice than cram too much controls on a cluttered and tiny form. - Don't use too much screen estate. A terrible example is the Microsoft "ERP" package for the very small business (can't recall the name right now). /gustav >>> rockysmolin at bchacc.com 21-07-2008 16:29 >>> Dear List: This must be my day to ask for help. I want to give one of my apps a facelift - change the colors, fonts, controls - stuff like that - to look more moderne. So I guess I'm looking for some web sties that might have some screen shots of forms from which I could get some ideas. The current app forms can be seen at http://www.e-z-mrp.com/ss_mainmenu.htm. So you can see what I mean - functional but not beautiful. What colors do you all favor for backcolors and forcolors? Fonts? Any suggestions welcome. MTIA, Rocky Smolin Beach Access Software 858-259-4334 www.e-z-mrp.com <http://www.e-z-mrp.com/> www.bchacc.com <http://www.bchacc.com/>