LC8DP15 feedback-IDE Issues

[J. Landman Gay]

On March 2, 2016 4:43:21 PM Richard Gaskin <ambassador at fourthworld.com> wrote:
>
> Given this, I wonder if it makes more communicative sense to consider
> moving the basic controls above the Widgets, closer to the always-used
> Browse and Pointer icons.


That was one of the things on my imaginary list. I'd like to see widgets at 
the bottom of the tool palette where they are out of the way, and where 
there is room for expansion as more become available. The primary hit 
regions will always be the browse and edit tools, and they need to be 
slightly larger than all the others and at the top where the user's eye 
will focus first.

Widgets are also a little too large compared to the other icons, and too 
dark, which makes them visually distracting. They also don't match the rest 
of the interface. Most professional teams create a particular color palette 
early on that will represent their brand and all interface elements must 
adhere to it. Apple uses blue, Google centers around certain saturations of 
primary colors, etc.  LC should choose a color scheme and use it throughout 
to visually integrate all components.

I'd avoid greys except as backgrounds. Very dark gray is okay for text but 
not so good for primary icons, it's too overbearing. Very light grey is 
difficult to see, and also implies less importance (temporary text in 
fields is often light grey, for example, to indicate the text will 
disappear when the user starts typing.)

I do favor functionality over appearance, but the sad fact is that new 
users will base their first impressions of the product on how it looks. 
These are some of the small details that matter for a professional 
presentation.

--
Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com