More essential, the readability of your lettering is not too good due to low contrast between font colour and background. It's worse with the lighter version.
Is this GUI going to be sexy?
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- KVRist
- 378 posts since 28 Jul, 2002 from Somewhere in between
I think those multi lightsources make it look good. They don't match my lights setup though
More essential, the readability of your lettering is not too good due to low contrast between font colour and background. It's worse with the lighter version.
More essential, the readability of your lettering is not too good due to low contrast between font colour and background. It's worse with the lighter version.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3944 posts since 7 May, 2004 from behind his workbench
well ok still many things do to on the GUI
mhh yes, the eq section knobs are crunched together too heavy....mhh.... ok, some shorter shadows - more contrast on the text.
ok. so far, thanks guys
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- KVRAF
- 3345 posts since 8 Nov, 2003 from Amsterdam
I agree, even with sexy knobsMcLilith wrote:Sorry, but I don't think it looks sexy to have your knobs packed tightly together like sardines. Those things need some room.
And make sure that the text is easily readable. It's almost a bit too fuzzy now...
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- Skunk Mod
- 21249 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Pony Pasture
Got to agree, those knobs are too tight for even my small paws to operate. Software it is, but it's trying to look like hardware. :-) Doing a good job of it too. The LEDs are retro cool.
Are the rings of color on the knobs supposed to be "glowing?" If so maybe they should cast very very subtle colored light on the panel. Or maybe the shadow-casting light sources would be too bright to see the glow...?
Are the rings of color on the knobs supposed to be "glowing?" If so maybe they should cast very very subtle colored light on the panel. Or maybe the shadow-casting light sources would be too bright to see the glow...?
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3944 posts since 7 May, 2004 from behind his workbench
yes, they should glow - perhaps theyre glowing too much? not sure, but looks nice in "dark" mode.Meffy wrote:Got to agree, those knobs are too tight for even my small paws to operate. Software it is, but it's trying to look like hardware.
Are the rings of color on the knobs supposed to be "glowing?" If so maybe they should cast very very subtle colored light on the panel. Or maybe the shadow-casting light sources would be too bright to see the glow...?
good idea, this would look even better
nope, they´re not emitting any light - i will try that
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- Skunk Mod
- 21249 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Pony Pasture
A small detail -- if it's named after the famous Canadian/US waterfall, the correct spelling is "Niagra." If it's not named after the famous Canadian/US waterfall, it's whatever you want it to be. =^_^=
[edit] Another small quibble: do the arcs of the LEDs match up with the thick arcs painted on the panel? They look a little "off" to me, but that might be an illusion.
[edit] Another small quibble: do the arcs of the LEDs match up with the thick arcs painted on the panel? They look a little "off" to me, but that might be an illusion.
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- KVRAF
- 2548 posts since 7 Jul, 2003 from Huntington, WV
The background color of your control panel was just fine in the previous version. It was the lettering that needed to be lighter--unless those letters actually light up, and are represented here as being in their unlit mode. I would definitely go back to the darker background, and I only would lighten the lettering instead. Furthermore, you don't need to lighten the large vertical lines and arcs you have painted on the control panel--just the lettering.sonicfire wrote:mhhhh....the same with more "light":
Everyone else has mentioned the shadows, which are indeed too long to look pleasing. However, I don't think that anyone has mentioned that objects tend to look better when there is one obviously dominant light source and any additional light sources causes minimal shadows, in comparison to the main light. As it is now, you have two point-light sources casting nearly equal shadows. This looks unnatural.
Do you have the ability to use (or emulate) light sources of different sizes? If so, you might try making your secondary light source much larger in size, (that's size, not brightness) and perhaps somewhat closer to the control panel. However, if you get too close, you will have noticeably uneven lighting across the panel.
Some of the concepts I'm talking about would be familiar to someone working with a 3D graphics program. I hope you understand what I'm talking about.
By the way, what graphics software are you using to create this GUI? Knowing that, might help us to help you more efficiently.
take care,
McLilith
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- KVRian
- 772 posts since 6 Oct, 2003 from ezeeworld
You've come a long way baby!
Your best yet!
But...
The text is far too close tone wise to the background tone though, you need to make the text either much closer to white, colour it or darken the background.
I have to agree with the others about the shadows, they are too fussy. It's an interesting twist to use two light sources but the shadows are too long. It's not how heavy they are, that's about right, they are just too big!
One last tiny little thing, when the leds are lit they would knock out their shadow. Try using an outer 'glow' around them on the lit version.
Still, that's good work Dennis!
Your best yet!
But...
The text is far too close tone wise to the background tone though, you need to make the text either much closer to white, colour it or darken the background.
I have to agree with the others about the shadows, they are too fussy. It's an interesting twist to use two light sources but the shadows are too long. It's not how heavy they are, that's about right, they are just too big!
One last tiny little thing, when the leds are lit they would knock out their shadow. Try using an outer 'glow' around them on the lit version.
Still, that's good work Dennis!
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- Banned
- 6127 posts since 1 Apr, 2004 from Et in Arcadia Ego
Sorry, no likey here.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3944 posts since 7 May, 2004 from behind his workbench
@meffy: nope, i meant "niagara" - try reading niagaragain backwards then you know why
@McLilith: these are good ideas, i think i will go with the darker version and lighten up the text for better readability. i will also play with the lights.
it´s a german prog called "cybermotion 3d designer".
its very nice especially for 3d-beginners like me - have 20 days left - think i will buy it
@McLilith: these are good ideas, i think i will go with the darker version and lighten up the text for better readability. i will also play with the lights.
it´s a german prog called "cybermotion 3d designer".
its very nice especially for 3d-beginners like me - have 20 days left - think i will buy it
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- KVRAF
- 2344 posts since 8 Jul, 2002 from Limerick, Ireland
I like the look Sonic 
but would echo whats already been said about the text...
Perhaps retro pulsing neon text
Anyway it looks good to me just a bit more contrast on the text to make it sharper
Dave
but would echo whats already been said about the text...Perhaps retro pulsing neon text
Anyway it looks good to me just a bit more contrast on the text to make it sharper
Dave
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- KVRist
- 441 posts since 13 Feb, 2003
some quick remarks...you *might* run into trouble with the shadow setup (knobs casting shadows on their neighbors) when you actually begin to turn those knobs...
i'd prefer soft shadows.
you might improve the look with some bump mapping (e.g. to mimic the holes around the LEDs.
maybe the whole panel may even look better when it was slightly more curved...
and contrast is most important, because at the end of the day, it's usability that counts.
it might be because of the perspective, but...some knobs don't match the center of the surrounding white circle perfectly...
oh - and please, no checkbox for the sidechain
hmm...ah yes, one more thing: the knobs. i just took a look at the psp nitro gui - i love those.
but don't get me wrong tho, it's just what came to my mind. your GUI definitely looks promising.
i'd prefer soft shadows.
you might improve the look with some bump mapping (e.g. to mimic the holes around the LEDs.
maybe the whole panel may even look better when it was slightly more curved...
and contrast is most important, because at the end of the day, it's usability that counts.
it might be because of the perspective, but...some knobs don't match the center of the surrounding white circle perfectly...
oh - and please, no checkbox for the sidechain
hmm...ah yes, one more thing: the knobs. i just took a look at the psp nitro gui - i love those.
but don't get me wrong tho, it's just what came to my mind. your GUI definitely looks promising.
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- Skunk Mod
- 21249 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Pony Pasture
sonicfire: Ah, so Palindrome the Cowboy rides again! :-)
ezee and McLilith have some good points. I agree that one main shadow and a weaker second one would be better. And there definitely needs to be more contrast. Darker background, lighter lettering, or both.
snooky: to get your free copy, right-click your favorite screenshot, then "Save image as..."
ezee and McLilith have some good points. I agree that one main shadow and a weaker second one would be better. And there definitely needs to be more contrast. Darker background, lighter lettering, or both.
snooky: to get your free copy, right-click your favorite screenshot, then "Save image as..."
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- KVRAF
- 2548 posts since 7 Jul, 2003 from Huntington, WV
Here are some more random suggestions:
I wanted to also mention that secondary shadows would more than likely be shorter than the shadow cast by the main light. It's not too common to have the shadow lengths be approximately equal.
Those two "green" knobs on the left have no legends. What do they do? Is it a secret?
The red light in the lower-left corner has the legend "LIGHT" assigned to it. Is this really what you wanted? It seems a bit like labeling a knob with the legend "KNOB".
You might want to consider using "ALL CAPS" for your section labels, but perhaps use properly capitalized words for individual knobs and indicators.
That column of lights on the very left edge of the GUI could be moved a bit toward the right, farther away from the left edge of the control panel. I know that you've aligned them with your product's name above, but they should positioned be like an "indented paragraph" beneath your product's name.
When LEDs are lit, they should not be rendered as pure white. You can play around with changing their hue and brightness, but don't allow them to become noticeably desaturated, or white.
take care,
McLilith
I wanted to also mention that secondary shadows would more than likely be shorter than the shadow cast by the main light. It's not too common to have the shadow lengths be approximately equal.
Those two "green" knobs on the left have no legends. What do they do? Is it a secret?
The red light in the lower-left corner has the legend "LIGHT" assigned to it. Is this really what you wanted? It seems a bit like labeling a knob with the legend "KNOB".
You might want to consider using "ALL CAPS" for your section labels, but perhaps use properly capitalized words for individual knobs and indicators.
That column of lights on the very left edge of the GUI could be moved a bit toward the right, farther away from the left edge of the control panel. I know that you've aligned them with your product's name above, but they should positioned be like an "indented paragraph" beneath your product's name.
When LEDs are lit, they should not be rendered as pure white. You can play around with changing their hue and brightness, but don't allow them to become noticeably desaturated, or white.
take care,
McLilith