On 5 Jun 2001, at 15:43, Chris Brown wrote: [how to improve the GIMP Look&Feel] > My second suggestion is more technical, finding a way (and forgive me > if there already is) to allow Gimp to have skins or something like > that so that if someone wants it to *look* like Photoshop, they can. I > defenately feel that some customizability is a key to a good UI. With > the default being something that people are familiar with. I would just like to note that there seems to be the idea that improving the looks of a UI automatically improves the UI (you use even stronger language, you call it the key to a good UI). I think this is a fallacy, although I would be hard pressed to find literature to back me up. However, if you think it true, you will soon realize that the functionality of a UI plays a part too. Looks belong to the part of interface design (AFAIK) that have to do with the user experience. Users may think that a certain skin is cooler, but will it actually help them to perform their tasks better? This is a complex area, which is (one reasion) why UIs get user tested before release. I do not think any of us have the resources to test the way users interact with the GIMP, although I would love to do such a study one day. (Hey, maybe we can ask a school or university to do such a study for us! Are there people here who think that that is a good idea?) Only seeing what users do and how users use a tool will help you understand the consequences of your choices in presenting a UI. -- branko collin collin@xxxxxxxxx
