Hi, On 13 Jan 2011, at 13:18, Igor Stasenko wrote:
On 13 January 2011 12:29, Tudor Girba <tudor.girba@gmail.com> wrote:
I tried to avoid a lengthy mail, but now I need to explain.
UI design should be approached with the same rigor as system design. A community is better than an individual in producing solutions, but only when the effort is in concert under a shared vision. If the arguments are just about "I like this better", the process transforms into a design by committee which usually leads to poor results. So, let me share my "vision".
The first thing that design should address is functionality (although visual appeal has a significant weight, too). In general, when you want to design something you should ask yourself why do you need to do that.
The intention of the Glamour-Morphic-Theme package is to offer a look that uses a minimum amount of graphical variables while allowing you to focus on the main content - which is that thing that you work on, not that thing that you use for your work.
I tried to start from zero and add a new variable (e.g., color) only when I could not distinguish something. There are still things that are superfluous (e.g., the border around all tabs, or the bulky shape of an expander), but I did not have enough time and Morphic expertise to do better.
That's why i like your theme. Because it is clean and simple and not overloaded with tons of eye candy. Yet it is elegant.
Now, orange vs blue is actually not just a matter of taste because your orange is not the same as my blue. There are two reasons: (1) it is stronger, and (2) it appears in more places (e.g., at the bottom of the scrollbar). This means that it will compete for my attention with more force. This might be your intention, but it is not mine because it takes away from my main focus which is the content.
I don't wanted to analyze why.. but if you want it.. Because orange for selection color fits much better: exactly because it should draw an attention, because i need that - i need to see what item(s) i selected, and orange serves better because it is higher contrast on gray/white background comparing to pale blue.
Ok, we disagree, but that is fine, too :).
Suppose you would make the orange have the same visual weight as the current blue, then it would still not be the same because orange does not mean the same as blue in the cultural meaning it tends to raise. For example, blue is usually perceived as more neutral than other colors, and I want to use blue for this reason (and also because it is the color of Moose).
you lost me here. i never associating colors with cultural meaning.
So, all in all, I do not want GLMOrangeUITheme in the Glamour-Morphic-Theme package :), but I do invite people with a UI design interest to build a shared vision that matches the one of the overall Pharo.
Okay.. it can be always putted into separate package.
That is what I am saying :). Thanks for understanding. Cheers, Doru
Doru
-- Best regards, Igor Stasenko AKA sig.
-- www.tudorgirba.com "Some battles are better lost than fought."