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[Atomic Shrimp]

Not sure - there does seem to be a bit of a fad at present for visual fluff such as transparent windows and Microsoft's new ribbon menu (which I still hate, after six months of daily use) - I think for business and productivity applications, the visual stuff is just a distraction - people want an application to do what it's meant to do, without getting in the way of the work.

Many of the best websites are like that too - you only notice the content and almost forget you're accessing a website, in a browser.


That's not to say that people won't keep on trying to introduce embellishments - because they will - ten years ago, it was Microsoft's talking paperclip - seemed like a good idea at first, then people wanted it to die, horribly. Any individual example of unnecessary visual embellishment will not last - it has a tendency to get really old, really fast.

 

[shadow9449]

Not sure - there does seem to be a bit of a fad at present for visual fluff such as transparent windows and Microsoft's new ribbon menu (which I still hate, after six months of daily use) - I think for business and productivity applications, the visual stuff is just a distraction - people want an application to do what it's meant to do, without getting in the way of the work.

Many of the best websites are like that too - you only notice the content and almost forget you're accessing a website, in a browser.

That's not to say that people won't keep on trying to introduce embellishments - because they will - ten years ago, it was Microsoft's talking paperclip - seemed like a good idea at first, then people wanted it to die, horribly. Any individual example of unnecessary visual embellishment will not last - it has a tendency to get really old, really fast.

I sometimes consider this topic myself and my stance is somewhere in between. I think of the migration from DOS to Windows. I'm sure that many people thought that a fast and stable system like DOS that could do just about anything you wanted it to was just fine and moving to a system that did perform more slowly and did crash more just for some visuals was a bad idea. However if today your programs are completely text-based requiring the user to remember a few dozen secret keyboard combinations, no one would use it.

On the other hand, I think that some of Microsoft's visual embellishment is way over the top to the point of looking garish. Not to mention that every time they have an "upgrade" the new application tends to be more slow and crash more. I can't fathom why anyone thought it would be a good idea to have an animated dog in Windows XP that moves while you are searching for files. I really don't enjoy using the new Windows Live messenger because of all the busy background visuals and distracting fading effects. I'm sure there's a way to turn it off to make it more usable but why would people want to change to a newer version of an application just to be frustrated enough to have to reconfigure it to get back what you USED TO have (can I hear people saying "VISTA!" there?)

I think the answer is somewhere in between. Users who will be looking at computer screen should ENJOY looking at what they use. I usually recommend going beyond the basic grey Windows-look screen and try for something a bit more visually-pleasing. If you grab a theme and stick to it throughout the program, you can use visuals to make a user more productive when s/he knows what to expect different icons or screens to do.

One thing that I like to do is select a colour for each menu. All screens launched from that menu will have the title in the same location in the same font and size and the form's header is a colour that I stick with for all screens launched from that location.

Finally, I do believe in "keeping up with the times". Having command buttons on your screens was the norm in the late 90s/early 2000s. It seems that most popular applications today use hyperlinks or other controls that turn colour as you hover over them and the like. If you consistently use this type of thing in your program it will provide a more modern feel. Stick to the "clunky" buttons and people will think your application is out of the 90s. Although it definitely requires more coding to do it this way, I feel it's often justified.

Just my opinion
SHADOW