Is there a website or book that shows different database GUIs?

[Rich S]

Admittedly, I'm more autistic than artistic so designing a stylish, yet functional, GUI for my runtime solutions is beyond my ability.

Short of hiring a graphic designer (meaning big $$$), is there a website or book that you know of that shows different database designs? The sample solutions that are included with FileMaker are too simplistic and klunky for my taste; I'm thinking of something more elegant.

TIA for your replies.

[Zcast]

Check out www.scriptology.com.

[Rich S]

Yes, I have v3.x already and am eagerly awaiting v4. Although it's a great tool--and I recommend it highly--the Layouts function is more of showcase of elements that can be used in a layout to make it look aesthetically pleasing, not a comprehensive "big picture" of the layout's design, e.g., think of a newspaper or magazine page with paragraphs that have fonts and styles that look great together vs. a well-composed page layout.

I just may bite the bullet and hire a graphic designer. There is the advantage that once he or she comes up with a layout style that I like I can recycle it into my other products as well so my product line will have the same, yet distinctive look and feel--good for branding purposes.

Often, one should leave it to the professionals since they know what they're doing!

[RodSierra]

I'd search for web design or web color schemes, you'll find sites like this:

http://www.colorcombos.com/

For us we spent a lot of time on our basic color scheme, and have stuck with that for years now. The rest is very simple really, pick a good cross platform font, and size for labels, pick a field background pattern or color, for different types of fields. Categorize them as editable, calculations, etc. And then most importantly stick with that design. We've found that you really don't need a graphic designer for database layouts, you really need to spend the time to perfect the layout such that it is easy to use and presents the data in a sensible fashion. All the flash and foof is something a graphic designer can do for a web site, but is IMHO, is not necessary in database design. A solid well chosen color scheme is the most important feature, along with consistent implementation. If you do use a designer, make sure they are familiar with database design, not a web page designer, as the folks that will use your solution may be looking at if for hours on end, while a web page is a much different animal with regards to graphics and color schemes.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Guest

[BruceJ]

I know what you mean, searching for ideal layouts and looks. I'm a psychologist and do a lot of work with industrial and organizational psychology. I have a strong appreciate for the way that people interact with machines, especially computers and the effects of colors and positioning.

First - decide if your database is something that is going to be stared at all day long by users, or is it something that will be a quick reference that users will use for a matter of minutes at a time.

If your users will be staring at your interface for hours at a time, you are responsible for a large part of their quality or life! There's a reason that many of the software solutions, such as Word, are created in soft grays or subtle blues, these are less taxing on the eyes and do not compete for attention. We have also found in research that Serif fonts have no benefits and may actually slow a user down. One of the best cross platform Sans Serif fonts is Verdana, it can be read even in smaller fonts.

Also, remember when placing objects, our eyes will scan the screen and fields from left to right, top to bottom. This means that a catchy object on the left side may distract the user from the rest of the information, as well as note that the bottom left is the least scanned location... This also affects field labels, the most natural path for our eyes are left to right, so labels should go in front of the field, not below or above it. Use this left to right principle to place your information that requires critical analysis on the right half of the screen.

As mentioned previously, consistency is important in look, feel and operation because it trains the users what to expect. Inconsistency causes cognitive dissonance and is distracting to the user. For example, buttons should have labels that say what they do, graphics are just candy. The only graphics that are useful are those that we have grown to see in almost all applications, a printer to print, and X to close, arrows to move forward or backward, etc..

If your database is going to be used just briefly by users, you can get a little flashier, but you have less time to "train" the user, so your interface has to be very basic, lots of space between objects. You can choose a more fashionable color if you want to impact mood. For example, deep/dark solid colors increase tension, light pinks and greens can calm, etc.. Look up the psychological effects of colors if you want to play around with this. Again, if the users are going to be using your database for long periods of time, using something other than neutral grays or light blues is going to result in less satisfied users. They may not realize that you are the culprit of their unhappy work life, but you will have an impact on them they will not realize.