What is the best way to make a GUI for a softsynth? Some try to emulate are real 3D life instrument like Moog Modular, some try to make a flat 2D but clear layout like Zebra.

Please, give me your opinions and examples on what is the best way to think when you make a GUI.
regards/bengt

been here before a few times but briefly ...

... i personally much prefer a non-hardware emulating gui - were not using hardware so why should my gear look like it ??? - examples of what i think is good gui design ...

- rawmaterialsoftware tracktion
- ableton live
- the newer concreteFX interfaces
- izoptope ozone / trash
- rgc:audio z3ta+

... dont forget though - that visual appearance is only a small part of what makes a good gui - its perhaps more important that the interface FUNCTIONS well (ie - is well laid out - is intuitive to use - etc)

slainte rob

EVERYTHING should have an Nbeat style gui-they are professional works of art.I DO like hardware emulations because I grew up with hardware and that's what I feel comfortable with.For example I love the hardware style of Orion while Traction to me looks candy coated.It's all a matter of personal taste of course.Perhaps OhmForce did it best when they offered both Funky and Classic skins for some of their effects plugs.People could choose what style they liked to work with best.

yeah - despite the hardware look of the ohmforce classic skins (although the functionality of their guis are most definitely NOT hardware emulating in a lot of respects) i really like them - for the functional reasons i mentioned earlier ...

... especially the way the ohmie knobs work (which will be tough to match if youre still working in SE falke) - the way when you click the cursor locks to the knob and it then works like a fader - the way their knobs actually seems to have a weight to them - the method used for fine tuning a parameter - everything really ...

... ALL software knobs should work like the ohmforce ones imho

slainte rob

I think clarity is the most important thing and I have found that, like it or not, using a imitative hardware style seems to be much clearer than a 2D graphical look. I just had a look at zebra and, just as I found with traktion, that look is flat and not so easy to work with.
The VST graphics benchamrk is still JX Synth. It was one of the first indie VSTi and it still looks stunning in comparison to most others. z3ta+ looks great and [/b]Vanguard looks good except that the knobs are tiny. Yet none of those synths have a good interface. [b]JX Synth has that ridiculous circular knob movement, [/b]z3ta+ has that awful page thing and [b]Vanguard is just too damned big for the number of parameters.

So at the end of the day I still believe that functionality is key. That's why all my synths have a very standard look and layout in which I have tried to make everything clear and uncluttered whilst making the GUI as small as I can.

I agree with BONES, I think the 2D interfaces are difficult to work with. The human eye has developed interacting with 3D (in the real world) so it makes sense that 3D GUI's are more appealing to us and easier to use

i agree to an extent with what bones said. I think 3d/pseudo3d interfaces often have an advantage over 2d GUIs because they have more 'cues' built in (reading them as 3d surfaces we can use 'depth' as additional information about the element).

Not to say there aren't good 2d interfaces too. But in general i think it's much easier to make a usable 3dish interface than a completely 2d one.

(btw: re advanced knob functionality a la ohm stuff.. you should keep an eye on http://www.Synthmaker.com for a more powerful alternative to synthedit. it's still in an early version but advancing fast)

This gets MY vote:

Ibiza Drums 1.0

There aren't enough scenic GUIs, are there?


better still...Portraits as VSTi

BUSHLaden!

I prefer interfaces that are fun to play with and make you want to tweak them - Emagic's ES2 comes to mind, as do the Ohmforce plugins and GRM Tools - Klangformer also makes me want to play with it though in other ways its a bit over complex. I think the 2D vs 3D thing is just about what you are used to - I never had any hardware so 2D is fine by me and as a visual artist myself I have no problem reading the cues if it is well laid out enough and gives good feedback (like Ableton). I prefer simplicity over complexity and also like an organic quality, I hate things laid out in rows like a spreadsheet or table, a bit of asymmetry brings a gui to life (that is one area where I still have a problem with the Concrete FX interfaces).

That image link is broken..... where can I take a look at those Ibiza drums?

I previously made a quick pole. Results of which can be viewed at this link:

http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34812

I incorporated user feedback in my most recent offering.

http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36744

I personally think that sound quality, functionality and ease of use are prime drivers. Too many buttons and sliders, with technical names and symbols, can be very daunting. I want to make music, not fly an airplane.

I find a lot of GUI controls too fiddly (RSI inducing) because they try and copy the hardware equivalent. If you take into account that there are easy ways and hard ways for manipulating any UI on a computer then it makes sense to adopt the easier ways. E.g. a slider is much more computer appropriate (easier on the mouse wrist) than a tiny rotary knob.

Appearance, however, is still very important to some people (actually it dominates popular music much more than the quality of the music). Some people even seek inspiration from the appearance of their plug-ins. This is maybe more relevant in an instrument plug-in than an effects plug-in, but hey, people are different. Like any product, it helps if the visual appearance is appealing.

Appearance is important for the buying process (i.e. to attract and sell the product) but if sound quality, functionality and ease of use are forced to take back seat to appearance, the user will very quickly search for more convenient solutions.

I like emagic's synth interfaces. For plugin FX GUIs I like Ultrafunk and Elemental Audio.

More and more I like open, unobtrusive stuff that you don't really see at all - all you're aware of is manipulating the sound.

functionalitywise, cfx has a good touch to lay out gui which is fast/under control if you make own sound. only color schemes are a bit ... wild

FalkeLab wrote:

some try to make a flat 2D but clear layout like Zebra.

While it doesn't look like a hardware synth, Zebra also uses lots of 3d cues if you look closely.

http://www.u-he.com/zebra/images/Zebra_big.jpg

At the end of the day, the most important thing, of course, is the sound BUT the GUI can have a massive effect on people. Some people won't even try a synth if it doesn't look 'professional' (Idiots!). Whilst others, like me, will try anything (er, we're just talking about VSTs, ok!) but I won't put up with a poorly designed GUI if it gets in my way.

The key is ease of use with a stylish, easy on the eye interface. Whether you use 3D or 2D GUIs makes no difference.

Some of my own tips on designing GUIs;

1. Think about the way people expect things to happen. As westerners, we are taught to read left to right, top to bottom. If your synth goes OSC>FILTER>DELAY>PAN then it would make sense to recreate this 'flow' on the GUI. Of course this is not always possible with todays routing systems but bear it in mind.

2. Remember, not everyone is using high res monitors. As a general rule I try to keep everything under 800x600 (Sorry to anyone still on 640x480!). This is generally regarded as the base resolution nowadays.

3. Anti Aliasing is Great for curved objects and blending edges But don't use it on everything! Its supposed to be a subtle softening effect. Too many synths out there look like they are out of focus! And never use it on very small text.

4. Colour is your friend. AND your enemy! Learn about colour, when to compliment and when to contrast. Remember people may be sat there looking at you GUI for hours (especially if you get the usability bit wrong!). Harsh contrasts tire the eyes, whereas being too subtle will bore you to death. Pick a palette of colours before you start and try to keep the number of colours down. The most common Design errors made by novices are too many colours and too many differing fonts and sizes.

5. When you have done a GUI, print it out. How does it look? Sometimes a hard copy of your interface will make you resalise what's wrong with your design.

6. Use the right tools for the job. If you have a pan control for instance, it makes sense to use a horizontal slider rather than a vertical, the slider and sound move with each other. Think about the context your control is being used for.

7. If you are using shadow masks to give the effect of a dial or slider casting a shadow across the GUI. Keep the shadows small and not too dark. Particularly if the shadow might fall across any text or important info. And remember to always use the same direction for shadows (i.e lightsource top right or top left) because there is nothing worse than a GUI wher each element appears to have been lit seperately.

8. Keep notes while you work. If you use a setting for a photoshop filter on one piece of your GUI it may well work on others. It might even be necessary to use exactly the same settings on every piece, so write it down.

9. Use your camera. Need a good backdrop for your synth? get out there with your camera and take some pictures! Close ups of concrete, wood or brick might be just what your looking for...

10. Stop working. Have a brew, a cig, a beer, a spliff, a massage or whatever else takes your mind off things! Sometimes staring at the same thing all the time can blind you to what's wrong.

Useful tools:

Higher Tendencies Switch ( http://www.highertendencies.com ) lets you find out exactly what colour something is and gives you a hex No. Very useful if you want to match text colours to something else in Synthedit. Just remember that the figures should be used in reverse order: FF5065 in Switch should be typed as 6550FF because Switch uses the RRGGBB system whereas Synthedit uses the BBGGRR system.

Trentsoft Trentstitch (Can't find homepage right now, but plenty of download locations are available if you search Google) Lets you join together many images into a stack. Ideal for dials.

Adobe Photoshop (any version) the Daddy of all photo editors, nuff said! If you are looking for a free alternative try GIMP ( http://www.gimp.org/ ).

KVR! Where you can find a brilliant resource for synth GUIs! Nearly every instrument, effect and host has a fullsize screenshot available! Great for research, BUT don't steal, that's just immoral!

The Internet. There are lots of design websites out there. Think outside of the box, most devices have user interfaces not just synths. Who knows, the perfect GUI for your next synth may be inspired by the dashboard of a 1978 Ford Cortina or the button on your kettle...

I hope this helps.

BTW, Falkelab, if you are looking for GUI help, PM me I've got some dials and sliders that you might be able to use or I'll even do you a 'Falkelab GUI suite' if your nice to me!

EDIT: Don't take the offer the wrong way! Your GUIs aren't too bad just a wee bit boring (imho ).