DotNetKicks.com - Stories tagged with UI

Good User Interface Design Patterns - "Don't Make Me Think!"

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:01:17 GMT

"Don't Make Me Think!" is a book by Steven Krug that deals with web usability and user interface design patterns. This book touches on user patterns, designing for scanning, navigation design, web page layout, and usability testing.

The benefits to using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 02:33:56 GMT

There are several benefits to using cascading style sheets (CSS) in the design of a website, but they have lacked the attention it deserves partially due of a large learning curve needed to fully understand its capabilities. There has been a real emphasis recently on CSS because of the Web 2.0 movement in the industry over the use of table based designs.

The Future (of) UI

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 14:07:36 GMT

User interfaces are changing. Touch, multitouch, gestures (Minority Report like control), ... On the other hand all these predictions focus on the cool new stuff and ignore conventional demands.

A new interface for mobile phones

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:24:16 GMT

Thoughts on how a mobile phone's camera could be used to create a point and click interface (without a touch screen).

A quick review of different UI frameworks

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:21:50 GMT

This post reviews several frameworks used for creating graphical user interfaces. I've decided to create such a review after noticing many programmers take a specific GUI framework for granted, as it is their automatic-choice-by-tool (i.e., they use what they're IDE let them, barely understanding the layers required to develop such a framework, and that there are alternatives they might have chosen if they had knew about).

Unexpected Results using InvokeRequired and Multi-threading Secrets!

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 06:29:46 GMT

Before you rush and view my blockquote and jump to the conclusion "oh, it's just that standard threading issue", well let me assure you this is different to the norm, and please.. Yesterday, was a very annoying day dealing with multi-threading in my app, you would think I would be good at this by now considering I blogged about it not too long ago acting like I knew what I was talking about.

Programming for Vista, Part 1: Creating a CommandLink in Managed Code

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:21:09 GMT

This article demonstrates creating an elegant native Vista "CommandLink" with pre-Vista OS compatibility in a few easy steps. Also all the steps are wrapped up into a sample application with source code posted below for immediate use.

Vista-style dialog using TaskDialog (with Windows XP emulation!)

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:16:51 GMT

Examples and explanation on integrating a lightweight slick Vista-style task dialog (extended message dialog) within managed .NET code. Both Vista and lower compatible through emulation techniques.

9 Examples of creating a fast and responsive UI with multi-threading

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:46:04 GMT

9 C# examples of creating a fast and responsive UI with multi-threading, very clear and streamlined examples to get up and running quickly.

In Search Of The Perfect UI

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:06:03 GMT

All the user interfaces are created within an established paradigm that we are used to. Is there a way of going beyond the paradigm? Is it possible to create the perfect UI? To make a brand new way of interaction between people and computers?

An Introduction to Using Patterns in Web Design

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:46:50 GMT

A nice essay from 37signals on designing UIs.

Print Designer Doing Web

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:22:01 GMT

A story about good print designers trying to design web sites and not wanting to learn a thing.

.NET Graphical Resources

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:01:02 GMT

So you just got done prototyping that new Winform or WPF application and the interface is a bit lacking. You are a programmer, not an artist after all. Well, never fear, free icons are here (wow that really rhymed). All kidding aside, most of us are not good at drawing images and icons, so we need some resources for these items.

Microsoft building yet another new UI framework?

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:54:41 GMT

Bearing in mind the arsenal of Windows UI frameworks that exists today - Windows Presentation Foundation, Silverlight, Windows Forms, Win32, Media Center Markup Language, Microsoft Foundation Classes and more from third parties; Microsoft has decided to build yet another one "to enable new UI experiences in future versions of Windows".

More Silk-style icons

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:46:05 GMT

Everybody's heard of the fantastic silky-smooth "Silk Icons" set from FamFamFam. This new set complements that original 1,000 png icon set with over 450 more of the same for use in Windows or Web applications.

5 Elements of Style For Error Messages

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:01:02 GMT

Five stylistic elements to consider when developing an error message UI for your applications.

ASP.NET AJAX username availability check

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:16:01 GMT

A simple method to check the ASP.NET Membership Provider for a username's availability inline during a registration process, using AJAX.

Graphical User Interfaces in XNA

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:01:01 GMT

Krisc from jsedlak.org has sent in an article on Graphicsl User Interfaces in XNA. Krisc covers several GUI related topics including input management, graphics rendering and using XML. The article summarizes with example code for a simple GUI screen complete with configurable XML.

An easy way to add a Ribbon Panel Office 2007 style - The Code Project

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:42:54 GMT

Office 2007 Ribbon panel control

Blinded by the user interface

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:01:01 GMT

A friend of mine has a problem - his team worked for months on a big system with great success, marvellous technical achievements and a very elegant architecture. However, the users don't share his enthusiasm. They don't appreciate the architecture, flexibility and openness to change. Somehow, they seem 'blinded by the user interface'.

Why UI design first is important

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:01:01 GMT

"Like most developers, I work with other developers. Most are computer sciency and kick ass when it comes to class design and architecture. The problem with this is that this creates a UI design culture that is not always optimal. There will always be bigger picture architectural design decisions that need to be made. So much of what we write code for doesn't even involve UI, especially since big systems are distributed and service-oriented. But when someone comes to you with something from a competitor site, and says, "I want to do this," starting somewhere deep in the application is the wrong place to go."

Being a responsible open source developer

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:01:02 GMT

I've been following the Office 2007 UI for quite some time, ever since I got my hands on early dog food alphas from the Office team. While some might not call it innovation, it just makes sense to me and I think it's a well designed and thought out piece of work. Yes, there are those that are not going to get it and require gobs of training and scream and kick and moan and want their beloved File menu and toolbar back. There is the other group where we embrace it and actually like it. I'll be the first to *** and complain when I'm building presentations where the freakin' buttons are as I'm still getting used to it, but in the end that's it. I'll get used to it, just give it time. I like the look and think it's a good way to go and frankly, Microsoft made that decision long ago and like or not, we have to adapt and live with it (or not, but that's a different blog post).

This Is What Happens When You Let Developers Create UI

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:01:01 GMT

Jeff Atwood, aka CodingHorror, discusses the general lack of user interface design skills among software developers.

New Release of WatirMaker now WatirRecorder

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 15:31:01 GMT

Rutger Smit & Scott Hanselman have released a new version of WatirMaker, now retitled WatirRecorder. This is a great program for building UI testing scripts.