A tip on good looking GUI

trogluddite · 11 Nov 2009

Totally agree. Also, too many people forget that a GUI is not just about looking nice. Fake Mahogany end cheeks and shiny reflections on your meter windows may look cool, but don't forget CLARITY. The examples you choose are spot on - they make sense to me even as the little thumbnails in your post . There's no point in complexity just for the sake of showing off the latest Photoshop filter - Imagine trying to read a book where the font changed every other word - it would annoy very quickly. Also, it should be remembered not to try and just copy what a hardware synth can do - the screen, mouse ,keyboard have strengths of their own that you can use - Imagine an oscillator with 100 waveform types - the selector would take up the whole panel on a hardware synth! It's nice to see that others are concerned with these things - I've downloaded so many VSTs in the past that made the coolest sounds, but just F**kec me off with their tiny knobs, illegible text and controls with useless parameter ranges.

The Luddite

phertel · 12 Nov 2009

Yes, that's true! A good GUI is extrem importantly if you sell your VST(i). You can make a experiment. Make a god VSTi and make it with some different GUI then you can see what GUI the people like. When you take a look to the comments you can see the VSTi with the best GUI sounds better then the other because the Synth are the same. The eyes listen to.

peter

trogluddite · 12 Nov 2009

I guess that's why pop stars aren't allowed to be ugly! LOL 😀

Disco_Steve · 12 Nov 2009

for me the next most important thing is flow. the order of the controls and the layout must guide the user through its use. it makes the initial learning and constant use faster, easier and thus s more pleasurable experience.

Shalako · 12 Nov 2009

Disco_Steve wrote: for me the next most important thing is flow. the order of the controls and the layout must guide the user through its use. it makes the initial learning and constant use faster, easier and thus s more pleasurable experience.

this is a big one, i really stay away from synths that have too much clutter on the front panel with so many options why wate time on a confusinng cluttered workflow. Break it down clearly label sections and use tabs or other soring functions to break up the display. You don't need to put every control knowen to man on the front panel

rl · 12 Nov 2009

interesting discussion!

I'd be interested on feedback to my latest creation (link to KVR DC 09: http://www.kvraudio.com/developer_chall ... hp#dc09_40), because I've built that with some similar ideas in mind and tried how abstract a GUI can be without loosing intuition.

trogluddite · 13 Nov 2009

@rl

Audio is a bit glitchy on my system, but a very novel approach to a GUI. Big Kandinsky fan myself - he had some interesting ideas about the links between music and visual arts (chums with Shoenberg I seem to recall). All circles is maybe a little too abstract - but I could really see some of Kandinsky's other motif's working well - shapes becoming more/less 'spiky' to represent the harshness of sounds; his ideas of the relative peacefulness or agressiveness of different colour contrasts. I think the traditionalists will probably hate it (sure Mr.K would identify with that!). As a migraine sufferer the synaesthetic link between sound and vision is probably more familiar to me than most people. It could certainly have lots of potential where language is a barrier to communication - I have a friend who works with psychiatric patients as a music therapist; I think he'd certainly be interested to play with this.

The Luddite

phertel · 13 Nov 2009

Thats all true How usefull is a Synth what has a great GUI and a wonderfull Workflow when it sounds like a Dishbuzzer. Otherwise great sounding Synths with a Userinterface what you not can handle befor you study it five years long aren't good to. Thats the Problem I have with the expensive Absynth from Native Instruments. It sound great but the Userinterface is a horror. In spite of knowing this this thought still hunts in my head. But we have our SM. In SM we can realise all our thougths and I hope some times I can make a Synth like Absynth with a greatfull workfolw,a top GUI and an horrible greatfull sound. 😉 I'm on the road! 🙂

LG Peter

djbrynte · 14 Nov 2009

i realy love fm8 and alchemy look.

Shalako · 15 Nov 2009

Here is my latest gui it's a moog controller for my hardware moog. Lets see one of your GUI's that you are proud of.( I'm talking to everyone here)

Scroll down on the image to see how I did the back lit display (opps the second add should says equals)

aliasant · 16 Nov 2009

Well. I have many unfinished designs but this one I kinda like. I wanted to get this one into the KVR contest thing but I had some bugs in it that I just couldnt fix. Probably didnt spend enough time on it. I am so scattered over so many different projects.

This plug is a stereo room simluator. Not a reverb. Just the room and it sounds pretty amazing on vocals, guitars, well, Just about anything you throw at it. I might find some time to make audio demos if someone wants but this was only to show graphics.

I have tried to make it as intuitive as possible but also to have some "surprises" Some that has to be tweaked by the user to start making sense. I think that makes it a bit more fun to play around with.

Dozius · 16 Nov 2009

Here's the last two I finished. I think they look pretty good. Did them in knobman and skinman with a little help from inkscape and GIMP.

One is a delay with a bode style frequency shifter in the feedback chain as well as some other tricks. The other one is a bunch of resonant delay lines that are tuned and playable via MIDI with some extras.

aliasant · 16 Nov 2009

Those are quite nice Dozius!

I also went to your myspace and am listening to your tracks now. Second run on them.Great music!. Like it a lot.

Dozius · 16 Nov 2009

Thanks! All those songs are pretty old now. I have been on hiatus from writing music for the past few years. My life/interests have taken me in a somewhat different direction, although I hope to find the time/inspiration to get into it again someday.

rl · 16 Nov 2009

Aliasant: your's has some style. That - said from some who is a bit bored from realistic looking GUIs - means a lot. Only point of (constructive) criticism: contrary to the really big knobs the buttons are very small and maybe harder to hit with the mouse.

Dozius: I like these "no frills" UIs (they could have been made by myself). Only thing (for my personal taste): the out and mix knobs looking realistic do not fit well to the rest of the UI. Maybe that's by intention. I personally would design them a bit more "flat" and "abstract", maybe like the other knobs, but a bit bigger an using a different color.

Andrew J · 16 Nov 2009

A work in progress...

Shalako · 17 Nov 2009

Dozius wrote: Thanks! All those songs are pretty old now. I have been on hiatus from writing music for the past few years. My life/interests have taken me in a somewhat different direction, although I hope to find the time/inspiration to get into it again someday.

I know exactly what you mean, I have been on and off with music production over the last couple of years and I'm now just coming back into it.

McBarGig · 18 Nov 2009

RL...Independant of what anyone says, or your graphics....THAT THING IS AMAZING! Period...

Dozius · 18 Nov 2009

rl wrote: Dozius: I like these "no frills" UIs (they could have been made by myself). Only thing (for my personal taste): the out and mix knobs looking realistic do not fit well to the rest of the UI. Maybe that's by intention. I personally would design them a bit more "flat" and "abstract", maybe like the other knobs, but a bit bigger an using a different color.

It was intentional, they are supposed to look like little hardware boxes with LCD screens and some physical knobs. Granted I wasn't going for hyper realistic but maybe a more cartoonish/illustrated feel. I was pretty inspired by the GUIs of audio damages vst offerings.

NekroDisko · 10 Dec 2009

One big thing to consider is this: Imagine that you have no real idea of what a synth should look like (or at least some faint idea). The user wants to know where to find "Filter Cut-off" or Cut or Freq, "OSC",VCO or Wave-generator,"LFO" or modulator and the like. Try to make the GUI as intuitive as possible for these users (those not into the technical mumbo-jumbo we love). Then, try to place modules, or components in as a logical position as possible.

The GUI does´nt have to be complex or overtly artistic graphically (though it is pleasing to the eye), but most preferably easy to understand.

Imagine a guitar with 3 necks pointing in different directions with each having 3 or 4 or 13 strings, with an array of pickups and effects... ANYONE would find this intimidating, and absurd!!

Keep it intuitive, from the users standpoint, not your own (thats why the DAW:s "Live","Reason" and "FL-studio" has made most of their popularity (I think).

Cheers! 🙂

needaname · 10 Dec 2009

Dozius wrote: Here's the last two I finished. I think they look pretty good. Did them in knobman and skinman with a little help from inkscape and GIMP.

One is a delay with a bode style frequency shifter in the feedback chain as well as some other tricks. The other one is a bunch of resonant delay lines that are tuned and playable via MIDI with some extras.

Awesome GUI approach, i Love those!

Edit: this is my first thing I did in SM when I bought it a few days ago, I lost my project file (for mistake I DELETED it) but now I'm making a new one 'cause I learned something more too! =)

needaname · 10 Dec 2009

rl wrote: interesting discussion!

I'd be interested on feedback to my latest creation (link to KVR DC 09: http://www.kvraudio.com/developer_chall ... hp#dc09_40), because I've built that with some similar ideas in mind and tried how abstract a GUI can be without loosing intuition.

I just tried it, I really LOVE the SOUND on this thing and the GUI is really a dream, playing with circles I got an awesome analog pad 😀