There comes a time when every great database must acquire a brand new look. This really applies if you’ve never even given your database a user interface or you’re looking to revamp the one you currently have.

The best place to start, I find, is with the “primary objective” of the interface. In fact, I would argue that it’s best to focus on the number 1,2 and 3 aspects or goals of the user interface. I do this for every single layout being designed. By doing this before you start to throw fields on the layout, you afford yourself the ability to keep things simple before getting too complex. Many of the most popular products and software interfaces start out super simple.

Some of them become bloatware, like many of the Microsoft Office products, but they had a good foundation when it came to how users have learned to use them.

In this video, we take a look at starting the user interface for our Custom Function database. I provide some foundation and the basis for how I approach the process and showcase how I implement based on the decisions I’ve made.

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