Re: Delphi Application Skin Ability Poll

From: mamcx (this_at_notexist.com)
Date: 02/16/04 

Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 10:22:59 -0500

> To sale more copies to end users the beautiful interface of software is very
> important.

Absolute. The problem is: you have the skill for do a BEAUTIFUL
interface?. If not, DON'T TRY, except if you get help..

Beautifull desing is a key attribute of master engineering. For example,
look at a Ferrari... For a BEST example look at stars, galaxies,
volcans, butterflys, atoms: all of them have "beauty" build in them, and
is the reason for us to copy this desings&colors: is proved engineering!.

"Beauty" communicate us a lot of things and generate good (or bad, for
example the vulcan) emotions.

> Do you agree with me?

Yes, from a user point of view someting "beauty" look more professional
and easy..and generate the feeling of control&power. Ugly interfaces
only cause angry customers unhappy using the software. If you build
bussines apps, the importance is big: The people is under high presure,
work with money, need support your own customers and have THAT boss: If
you can provide a "nice" software you do the good action of the day for
them!

However, if provide "beauty" interfaces was a easy thing.... You must
think in the reason of put this "beauty". Again, the Ferrari: apart of
the red color, the curves are here for a tech reason...get more
velocity, the red is maybe for do the impression of be "rebel" or
something like (heee, obviously i don't know why the ferrary look that
way, but this desing communicate to me that)

What you need comunicate to your end-user? Is "this program is funny"
like a game, then look that games have fancy buttons with a lof of
effects, unusual slides,pop-pups, menus, etc..

Or is "this software is easy", a software for very joe-users or childs
tend to have BIGGER menus, buttons and the text is bigger with clear
fonts and that...

A commercial app must provide the sense of "you are a professional",
have more neutral colors, the layout of the app is more task-oriented,
you need that the app have a secundary role... A user of this kind of
app consider your app "beauty" if is fast to type, is accurate or
stable, fast to report, provide charts, have clear text and that things.

A good use of a skin solution here is for consistence: If some copies
are in win98 and other are in winxp you can a)Put the XP them everywhere
or b)Put the Win98 them everywhere.

Or "this software is for nerds" a OS utility? Then a "tech" theme with a
lof of fancy controls, maybe is the way.

In the end, provide a skinnable application can be usefull because:

- Is more easy provide consistency across plataforms. For example, is
easy that app look like a MacOS or a Linux app...
- The user have the feel that "control" the app with a thing that not
destroy the inner work = thats good. If become tire of some theme, can
return back...
- You can serve best people that have problems with some colors or
fonts: Provide a skin for them
- You can cause happines for tech guys and the kind of people that
imagine yourselves like a "artist"
- You can sell version 2.0 with a diferent look (and not do big changes
in the interface) and the people can say: yeah, is a new program!

But remember:
- The skin part only not cause "beauty". Is the whole engineering... A
galaxy is not beauty ONLY because that colors: Is because is built on
top of precise math&physics and have a consistence way to do the
"galaxy" things. If you put a great interface but fail to do the inner
engineering rigth, then the people no can consider it "beauty".
- A lot of people hate fancy GUIS : Provide the option for deactivate it
or deploy a "simple" theme
- NO deploy themes with hard to read fonts..please!
- Accept that the people configure your pet OS with other themes... and
want your software look like
- Decide why you need put "beauty" and what you need to comunicate with them
- Consider the help of graphical designer. A raw artist maybe is not the
best choice if not understand how is build a computer interface
- Read about usability.
- You need supply compatible images with the theme....
- Best, only deploy 1-3 themes the first time and test it with users
(before ship)