brendan mccloskey

Seeking inspiration for Max GUI design ideas, not too concerned with the arcana of mapping strategies or specific objects etc. Novel weird conventional, all grist to the mill

Hi
Seeking inspiration for Max GUI design ideas, not too concerned with the arcana of mapping strategies or specific objects etc. Novel weird conventional, all grist to the mill

gui-design-exampleslinksresources

"Novel weird conventional, all grist to the mill" can u translate?

Most of the GUI I would need is readily available in Max. I've never needed to go into designing my own pots, slider. I personally like things that are big, easy to read, simplified but clever design with the most important parameters taking up a physically larger or prominent space. Not too many colours and absolutely nothing that requires fiddling about or feels fiddly. I like sliders where possible, appropriate. I like clean tabbed menu's. I prefer a simple contextually based colour schemes. I also like a maximum of between 5 to 8 parameters in a box - too many options/parameters often limits a users interactions. Tabs should bring me to new parameters. I should never have to deal with more than 5 to 8 at a single time in any one place. I try to make things feel like an analogue module or have the same feeling of simplicity and accessibility and compactness.

I look at a computer for many hours a day. I do not want to strain my eyes more. Also when using devices in a performance or a jam I prefer sliders and simplicity and tabs over pots and complexity and menu's.

I like the look and feel of Valhalla Room VST. NI's Massive is not bad. It has a lot of controls but they are big, logically laid out and all the messy stuff is under tabs in the middle - for such a complex synth it looks very clean. I like the look of Lemur - same thing. I do not really like 3D, distracting backgrounds, and things that are supposed to look like hardware. Hardware looked like it did for a reason. The reason often does not translate well to a screen. The only 3D or not flat interface I have liked is AudioDamages cell shading style. It is more comic book 2.5D style and again it has very few parameters and they are big. Admiral Quality Poly-Ana is basically hell for my eyes.

That's my 0.02c - a bit utilitarian I am afraid but I do use this stuff a lot so while it might not seem like much this kind of GUI is important to me.

Most of the GUI  I would need is readily available in Max. I've never needed to go into designing my own pots, slider. I personally like things that are big, easy to read, simplified but clever design with the most important parameters taking up a physically larger or prominent space. Not too many colours and absolutely nothing that requires fiddling about or feels fiddly. I like sliders where possible, appropriate. I like clean tabbed menu's. I prefer a simple contextually based colour schemes. I also like a maximum of between 5 to 8 parameters in a box - too many options/parameters often limits a users interactions. Tabs should bring me to new parameters. I should never have to deal with more than 5 to 8 at a single time in any one place. I try to make things feel like an analogue module or have the same feeling of simplicity and accessibility and compactness.

I look at a computer for many hours a day. I do not want to strain my eyes more. Also when using devices in a performance or a jam I prefer sliders and simplicity and tabs over pots and complexity and menu's. 

I like the look and feel of Valhalla Room VST. NI's Massive is not bad. It has a lot of controls but they are big, logically laid out and all the messy stuff is under tabs in the middle - for such a complex synth it looks very clean. I like the look of Lemur - same thing. I do not really like 3D, distracting backgrounds, and things that are supposed to look like hardware. Hardware looked like it did for a reason. The reason often does not translate well to a screen. The only 3D or not flat interface I have liked is AudioDamages cell shading style. It is more comic book 2.5D style and again it has very few parameters and they are big. Admiral Quality Poly-Ana is basically hell for my eyes. 

That's my 0.02c - a bit utilitarian I am afraid but I do use this stuff a lot so while it might not seem like much this kind of GUI is important to me.


^"Novel weird conventional, all grist to the mill" can u translate? "

Those word combinations were used during a Marshall McLuhan discussion by Terence McKenna ... I think the title of the talk was 'riding range with marshall mcluhan' ... so on that coincidental note

I would recommend looking into the plethora of textures in nature in order to draw inspiration ... perhaps a mushroom based interface with spore communication and ruptures in space-time leading into healing places (ex. solutions to societies problems)

Those word combinations were used during a Marshall McLuhan discussion by Terence McKenna ... I think the title of the talk was 'riding range with marshall mcluhan' ... so on that coincidental note 

I would recommend looking into the plethora of textures in nature in order to draw inspiration  ... perhaps a mushroom based interface with spore communication and ruptures in space-time leading into healing places (ex. solutions to societies problems)


Thanks grizzle, many clear points there as general guidance and personal preferences, I'll look at the examples you cited and thanks again. Tabs and bpatchers, clean and simple.

11olsen, yes a bit vague I know, I just wanted any and all examples, suggestions for Max GUI design

i have much fun with skinman/knobman (win only but free software) in combination with pictctrl/slider. don't forget you can create a custom cell background palette for mtrxctrl. hover/mousestate/ubutton often help to create more customized controls.(you already know that)

we now can also create triangle/arrow panels. lock background feature is important while designing gui

i have much fun with skinman/knobman (win only but free software) in combination with pictctrl/slider. don't forget you can create a custom cell background palette for mtrxctrl. hover/mousestate/ubutton often help to create more customized controls.(you already know that)
we now can also create triangle/arrow panels. lock background feature is important while designing gui


Yes, pigspigs76, it is also important to underpin the metaphor with a unified and tangible theme, so a TUI (not a GUI)

GUI design examples/links/resources?