KVR Audio

fallacy · Post by **fallacy** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 9:55 pm

Let me be frank and ask: does a GUI (from a completely visual perspective, barring ergonomics) have an effect on whether you want to use it?

I have to admit that for me its true... If I am noodling or don't have any specific sound I am after, I am far more likely to turn my nose up at good old Synth1 in favour of something more visually appealing...

In recent years Logic has been lucky enough to get some visual reworks in some of its built in effects and instruments, which makes it all the more obvious when you fire up EXS24...

In my opinion "Skeuomorphism" tends to stand the test of time, as Reason's original racks like the Subtractor are still quite okay (if not a bit small) today... I realise that Apple with their OS ditched this concept in favour of flat and slightly more utilitarian looks. I like this too, but I think with Synths and effects, skeuomorphism actually works well...

I guess where I am going with this is whether or not its reasonable to hope manufacturers will give their software a 'fresh lick of paint' once in a while? I get it - the sound followed by ergonomics and workflow are first and foremost... But is it so wrong to be put off by a dated interface? Even if its perfectly functional?

Jupiter8v is a good example for me... I love the sound but the interface is desperately needing an improvement (but so is the ergonomics to be honest)

Apologies if I'm all over the place, just shooting the breeze!

Jbravo · Post by **Jbravo** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:01 pm

absolutely agree. I've reskinned a few synths just to make it more fun to use them

Satch1 · Post by **Satch1** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:20 pm

IMHO a nice GUI is always welcome, but it's always the functionality and sound of a synth that draws me to it over the looks. I'll overcome the drawbacks of the GUI if it does what I want.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:22 pm

A visually nice GUI is... nice... but nothing beats ergonomics. The best GUI's for me have both, nice visuals AND ergonomics.

Nice GUI:

Bad GUI:

Jbravo · Post by **Jbravo** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:42 pm

Improved Voyager

voyager.jpg

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:45 pm

Much better.

The default skin still is a good example of a GUI gone wrong.

sfd · Post by **sfd** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:56 pm

I took the liberty to quote myself from this thread.

sfd wrote:A GUI or a Graphical User Interface is, as the name suggest, a working tool. It is, or should be, designed as such. Needless to say perhaps. But sometimes forgotten when the GUI design becomes a matter of art rather then about usability.

Although we want our tools to look good we certainly don't want the artistic design to overshadow the tools purpose and functionality.

A pilot landing an aircraft needs to know if the wheels are out and locked. That information is provided on a display in the cockpit. Everybody understands the importance of the readability of that display. It would be fatal if the designers where way more focused on look and fashion rather then on readability.

While usability and readability in cockpit design is of a very high priority. It's far from the case when it comes to audio software design.

It's a common misunderstanding that most of those having issues with Graphical User Interfaces are visually impaired. It's of course true that those are the ones most vulnerable for bad GUI design. However far more people have issues with various aspects of a GUI. Such as certain color combinations. A white label on a yellow background, for instance, might be a problem for far more users then those who are visually impaired.

Fonts and font size is an issue for the many having myopia.

The purpose of this text is not to argue for a certain taste. A userfriendly, readable and highly viewable GUI doesn't have to compromise with taste. As a matter of fact - the more options provided to the user to customize the GUI to suit his or her own needs and taste the better it is for everyone.

xNiMiNx · Post by **xNiMiNx** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:59 pm

fallacy wrote:I guess where I am going with this is whether or not its reasonable to hope manufacturers will give their software a 'fresh lick of paint' once in a while? I get it - the sound followed by ergonomics and workflow are first and foremost... But is it so wrong to be put off by a dated interface? Even if its perfectly functional?

Function and workflow all the way. Id rather devs invest in this, than a new 'lick of paint'.

Can you imagine if Aerosmith said the inspiration for Dream On was a GUI of a daw, or the knobs on some hardware, or maybe they painted the white keys on a piano in dayglo colors? Just a random example, but pick any song that you love, that holds meaning to you. If you heard that artist say a UI was the inspiration, could you take them seriously? I sure as hell couldnt.

Life is where inspiration should come from, not UI. If you sit down to make music and you arent inspired, go outside, go hang out with some friends, go watch a movie, watch paint dry and think about life and the paint fumes killing your braincells... pretty much anything is better than seeking inspiration from a UI imo.

Jbravo · Post by **Jbravo** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:24 am

You can write music about anything, a lot of it is about nothing whatsoever but if your tools are a joy to look at it would definitely motivate you to pick them up and use them instead of making do with an ugly dusty thing which you're tired of looking at. Obviously writing music inspired by a GUI would be kind of weird but it would very likely inspire you to just enjoy using the tools and make some music which just works for its own reasons. I'm sure there's a very good reason developers go to such lengths to perfect a pleasing GUI and if you think it doesn't affect you even on some subliminal level then I think you're either naive or lack self-awareness, or maybe even a bit pretentious

Boardwalk · Post by **Boardwalk** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:37 am

Yes. Especially the DAW. I couldn't work with Synth1. It's just depressing.

xNiMiNx · Post by **xNiMiNx** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:13 am

Jbravo wrote:You can write music about anything, a lot of it is about nothing whatsoever but if your tools are a joy to look at it would definitely motivate you to pick them up and use them instead of making do with an ugly dusty thing which you're tired of looking at. Obviously writing music inspired by a GUI would be kind of weird but it would very likely inspire you to just enjoy using the tools and make some music which just works for its own reasons. I'm sure there's a very good reason developers go to such lengths to perfect a pleasing GUI and if you think it doesn't affect you even on some subliminal level then I think you're either naive or lack self-awareness, or maybe even a bit pretentious

Alright. Let me ask you, is there a point at which it should stop, or should we keep going til we get to virtual room daws with 3d modeled vsts, lighting, etc?

Boardwalk · Post by **Boardwalk** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:49 am

"Life is where inspiration should come from, not UI."
Yeah, staring at the big mouth of Steven Tyler til it eats you. For instance.

DJ Warmonger · Post by **DJ Warmonger** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:29 am

The clean and accessible GUI is key factor to me. I'm not going to spend long hours with synth that looks ugly and feels tiring.
It's of course not only the skin, but also layout, ergonomics, everything easily accessible. It is also important for me to understand what actually the synth does, so readouts, meters and clear routing are important.

acYm · Post by **acYm** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 6:37 pm

koreinterface.PNG

Now there's an interface.

DAW and Softsynth GUIs