[Qt-creator] New Design 2#

[Alexander Rukletsov]

My 5 cents regarding design & simplification.

Qt Creator is used not only by QML designers, but also by software
engineers. Most of them prefer to have tools and preferences nearby, not
buried behind a dozen of clicks. I would say, current trend of Microsoft
products is quite the opposite: recall Win 8 or "ribbon concept". So I'm
mostly against of any kind of simplifications in specialized tools like Qt
Creator.

Things like font and colour should be customizable for editor and system
for menus. Please don't expect everyone is going to like your favorite Open
Sans Light. I won't : ). Instead of proposing a single look, it's better to
implement colour theme support and then propose your look as a
pre-configured theme. There exist projects like Solarized, which propose
certain colour schemes based on some kind of perceptional research. As far
as I know, Creator has basic support for styles, however I'm not sure
whether you can change panel colours through it.

What I liked most in your screenshots is the look of the scroll bar. If
this is not patented by Microsoft (it shouldn't because I've seen this
previously in MetalScroll plugin for Visual Studio 2008), I would be very
happy to have this as an option.

Please note that everything above is my personal opinion and I don't claim
I know the universal truth.



On 30 August 2013 21:15, Michael Jackson <imikejackson at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have no idea whose idea this is lately to go with all monochromatic
> icons but STOP IT. As a human my eyes can pick up on color differences
> _much_ quicker than gray scale differences. Keep some color. It helps the
> usability of the software.
>
> The one main thing you need to be thinking about on this "redesign" is not
> "eye candy" or "it *looks* good but does it enhance the usability of the
> software. If something looks great but I have to hunt for everything
> because the differences between buttons and labels are so subtle that they
> don't stand out then the design is useless (IMNSHO). Add changes that will
> help the usability of the software. NOT make it "look" good.
>
>  And what is it with everything being flat lately? I thought there were
> studies done that basically said the semi-3D'ish of gradients helps with
> the human-computer interaction. I think VS2012 is a travesty to usability
> and a lot of developers seem to think that way. Just do a search. Apple
> removed all the color icons in the "Finder" on the sidebar. This reduced
> the usability of the system because it is harder to distinguish the icons
> quickly. Looks like iOS 7 is heading that route also.
>
> Sorry for the friday rant but making something look good is not the same
> as making something usable. Form follows function.
>
> Cheers
> Mike Jackson
>
> On Aug 30, 2013, at 2:52 PM, "Elias Steurer" <elias at evolutionzone.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Wow thank you for your feedback! Ok Guys lets put together all of our
> concerns:
> >
> > Bad:
> >
> > ·         It’s too dark, do depressive!
> > o   A white version of the skin is on the way
> > ·         Visual Studio looks the same!
> > o   Yes I have to admit as a Designer the trend goes to “Flat Design”.
> On the one hand its simplifies the editor and make it look and feel a lot
> cleaner. And no I don’t want it to look like a clone of Visual studio! You
> have to be patient, it needs time to create something unique
> > ·         The new icons are all grey!
> > o   Yes this will be changed soon, I promise ;)
> > ·         Some important features are missing (Progress, Project tree)!
> > o   As I said, it is only a prototype
> > ·         It isn’t possible to accomplish this in the time, we don’t
> have the manpower to do that for 3.0
> > o   I just randomly picked a number…. Don’t panic ;)
> > ·          The multiple Documents problem
> > o   Thank you charley for your advice, I will change that!
> > ·         We don’t need that “new design revolution”, I can do all the
> thinks what I have to do with the current design!
> > o   Well this point is a bit tricky… Digia want to have full Android and
> iPhone support until the end of this year. Be honest the design of an IDE
> also represents and shows the possibilities what you are able to do with
> that kind of technology. Since we write our interfaces in qml (which is
> literally awesome by the way) we also want a graphical editor. And who is
> using this editor? Designer who really care about good looking interfaces.
> The point that “you can do everything with the current design” is true! But
> stop to evolve is not a good thing. You get my point, right?
> >
> > Good:
> >
> > ·         New rotated bar
> > ·         Minimalistic icons
> > ·         Simplified editor
> > ·         Cleaner look (Flat Design)
> > ·         Right corner, a preview of the code
> > ·         Dark AND White version
> > ·         Font: Open Sans Light
> >
> > Ideas:
> >
> > ·         Changing the debug button (A lot of people click it by
> accident)
> > ·         Moving the Target selector to the top
> > ·         More colors, color schemes for the code?
> > ·         …
> > ·         Do you have some ideas/wishes?
> >
> >
> >
> > I will try to consider all of your concerns :P
> >
> >
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Eli
> >
> >
> >
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>
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