love the functionality of your app,
but it desperately need a UX overhaul....
please hire a pro.. maybe make a contest for the best mock up and have us vote!
: )
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72 comments
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Michael Barker I totally agree that this is an area that could do with substantial improvement. However, please don't put it to a contest/vote — hire a reputable UI/UX designer/firm.
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mosey levy the reason i mentioned the vote / contest is that im nervous that oranged would not recognize good design. thats not mean to be an insult, but i feel like if they can continue making an app for that mac that still looks like this, then they might be slightly out of touch with modern mac ux.
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Michael Barker As I understand it studiometry is a cross-platform application written in realbasic — so not all Studiometry users are mac users (like you and I) — though I imagine there are more software options for Windows users, so perhaps there are more mac users proportionally. It could also be a limitation of working with Realbasic — alot of Realbasic applications look pretty much the same (in other words, ugly and outdated — a reviewer described the Realbasic GUI as looking more windows xp than even windows xp does!) — But I'm not a developer so I don't know what's possible.
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mosey levy if thats the case that means we are using 3rd rate software. basically catering the lowest common denominator....
i really believe that we should have great looking software that works in line with the mac hig . .
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Michael Barker Having worked in the past in dual-platform shops (windows and mac — usually designers on mac, writers/admin on windows) I think cross-platform compatibility is a strong selling point. These days I run a small mac-only shop, as I suspect you do — so this is not a selling point to me, whereas a graphically sophisticated and highly functional interface would be.
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Oranged Support If you guys could provide some specifics about parts of the application interface and experience that you're not happy with that could help move the discussion forward. We constantly work on the interface and we need to keep a balance between having it be "pretty" as well as functional. Studiometry is a pretty complex program that can handle a lot of information so it isn't as possible to use a minimalist interface due to the overall amount of information stored and editing in the app. Let us know your specific ideas and we'll see if they might work towards improving the application.
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mosey levy thanks for the response. the most obvious issue to me is the menu bar... its crazy crowded up there. think of a 13" macbook and how crowded the entire app seems on it.
besides that - if i work in an app all day long, i really need it to pull me in . . not repel me.
i want the app to be sexy and fun to use.....i understand functionality is more important, but it can have both.
i think that really the app layout and design needs to be redone from scratch with 2011 in mind. its an amazing app, but its been built on over and over again over so many years. sometimes you just need to throw out what you have and start from scratch. obviously the database and all the programming behind the app is excellent, but its just the design that is lacking.
now at the moment, you arent far behind any other similar mac software, but times will change quickly, and someone will make an amazing looking piece of software with a similar functionality set, and will outpace you.
daylite is good looking, but not good looking enough to get me back there. we depend on certain features that SM offers . .
the calendar is just so ugly . . (im sorry), look at apple's calendars in iOS and Lion . . they look great!
the calendar in SM looks like its from Now Up To Date from the 90's!
hire a real UX designer and let them help you . . because thats an area i really feel that is important. its like being in an ugly office all day, or a happy pleasant good looking office. they both have the same purpose, but one inspires you to move forward, where the other just makes you want to get in and out as quickly as you can.
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mosey levy -
Dana Carter To best honest, everything on that site looks like little toys or simple tools that don't do much. We use Studiometry every day and are quite happy with the interface/look/feel. I find nothing "ugly" about it, even though it's not a plastic/shiny app like those, you can still tell a lot of time has been spent making the program look nice. I'd much rather oranged continue to focus on the quality of the product and features rather than "polishing a turd" as one might say.
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mosey levy the apps might be toys, but the design is incredible. why should good design be ignored in a product we use daily.
its cluttered, and has 90's graphics . . how is that helpful when trying to manage so much information !
im glad you are "happy" with the current design, but it is not intuitive, and plain dated graphically.
if no one agrees, thats fine. just keep in mind that i myself am constantly looking for better offerings in terms of specs, features, and design. we have to renew yearly to stay up to date with the latest versions, and if something better comes along... you might lose some customers.
the idea is to be ahead of the curve and get there before everyone else does.
if everyone in the world though design was good enough . . we would have some really shitty products out there.
i use a mac for a reason . . otherwise id have a beige box running xp on it.
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Michael Barker I don't think the issue is making Studiometry 'pretty' — I think it's about refining it's interface for functionality and user experience. I also think that as Mosey originally suggested, hiring a professional interface designer — even as a consultant — is the way to go here. An informal survey via the feature requests thread is not going to be nearly as productive and could quickly degenerate into 'I like this/don't like this' and bean-counting.
I'm a web/graphic designer so I can sympathize somewhat with the task at hand — But as Mosey points out it's precisely because Studiometry is a pretty complex application, and because we manage so much information with it, that good UI and workflow design is critical. I work with pretty complex software (such as the adobe suite) everyday and expect the same UI/workflow sophistication exhibited there in other applications I introduce into my daily toolbox.
The beautifulpixels site leaves me cold and I agree that there is a boom in single-task apps that lean more on graphical elements than functionality — However if you look at other apps such as Guided Ways' excellent and sophisticated 2do task app (http://2doapp.com/en/2Do/features.html), the mac-friendly interface of Jumsoft's Money (http://www.jumsoft.com/money/) or even Panic's one-window development app for mac, Coda (http://www.panic.com/coda) you will get some sense of Mac-user's expectations, and best practices (2do in particular) in UI design. And Coda — the most expensive of those apps — is half the price of Studiometry, so surely we don't have to sacrifice form for function in the name of development focus?
If I had to choose an area where the relationship between form and function could be improved, I would probably turn my attention to the Calendar. If this is to be a meaningful tool, calendar items need to display more information and provide more visual cues. I know colouring calendar items is planned, but I'm holding a wait-and-see attitude about it's implementation. Opening a modal box to sniff items doesn't seem to gel well with the 'all-in-one- window strategy — I need a calendar I can scan quickly. A perfect example of where the calendar falls apart for me is that I go through the trouble of converting all of my project specific studiometry to-do items in ical to individual project items in ical so that I can attach alarms and colour-coding to the items. What an incredible waste of time. I find myself not using any of this functionality in favour of other more functional software.
A related area for development would be the 'to do' feature. Whether you're a fan of the GTD method or some other method of task-management — I think apps like the aforementioned 2do app, or Culture Code's Things (http://culturedcode.com/things/) are setting the bar for form and function — at least on the mac.
One last note: As you know cross-platform cloud-hosted management applications are gaining traction — so competition in the PM market is going to be that much more fierce in the future — when I was shopping for software, online applications were the other major contender for my investment — all the more reason to pull ahead of your competitors as Mosey suggests.
Thank you for your consideration,
Michael
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Michael Barker By the way, it just occurred to me — the argument for a ux professional is staring us in the face — ZenDesk — you can crib from their job hunt for a UI/UX Design Lead for your own job call :)
http://www.find-designer-jobs.com/zendesk-uiux-design-lead/
"We are currently looking for a passionate, talented and experienced UI/UX Design Lead. You’ll be working with a world class team on a product that is renowned for putting usability first and you’ll be reporting to the Chief Product Officer.
Your number one priority is to keep the Zendesk user experience beautiful and hassle-free. You’ll be directing the visual appearance of all new features and enhancements, with a strong focus on simplicity and manageability. This includes initiating, suggesting and spearheading major UI re-factorings for a cleaner and more intuitive user experience.
You have some prior work which you’re very proud to show us, demonstrating a strong graphical flair and an eye for visual consistency. You enjoy designing elegant solutions to complex workflows, and you know the devil is in the details. You love to innovate and design things that people will tweet and blog about."
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David Cumberbeach I agree with Michael.
This isn't about making Studiometry pretty -- that will happen as a natural result of getting the UX/UI design and functionality right. Not only should form follow function, but usually good function results in good form as a byproduct.
Generally there are many improvements to be made with navigation, typography, graphics and layout of the interface; and while the improvements could be listed, I think it would be more efficient to hire a good UX/UI designer. Otherwise the interface is likely to be mired in design by inexpert committee, or improvements will stall due to a long laundry list of features for which it is unclear what should take priority because there is no unifying design rationale or framework.
As examples though:
- The rounded boxes need to be dropped from the notification area, and a different method used to distinguish between items. The current method leads to visual clutter which inhibits good readability. There are numerous other ways the items could be distinguished visually
- Centre justification in preferences should be changed to left justified, and more attention paid to design grids
I could go on...
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mosey levy thanks for your support on this guys. i think its an area studiometry really lacks.
i hope to hear some good news on this front for SM 9
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mosey levy example of how a similar app would look if starting out fresh in this decade ...
obviously short on features compared to SM... but for a 1.0 product,
it looks mighty nice.
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Sarah I do hope that Studiometry doesn't start to travel down the lines of an Outlook-esque interface (like Kickoffapp.com - sorry Mosey)
I find the current interface 'adequate' and, sure, 'pretty' would be nice but I don't think major changes in the layout are necessary or desirable. A little polish here and there would work wonders but, other than that, Studiometry is (for me) a dream come true! With the exception of a brief affair with Daylite/Billings, I've been using it since version 4 and I don't envisage straying again. A few tired buttons won't put me off what is the *perfect* app for me to run my business with. :o)
Just my 2c.
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Michael Barker I take Sarah's comment and Studiometry staff's lack of direct comment on this thread, to be a sign that there will be little or no change to the UI in v9 — am I wrong?
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Oranged Support There won't be a giant overhaul in 9.0 but we are tweaking and updating other aspects of the interface.
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Sarah Don't take my comments as a sign of *anything*, Michael ;o) They are just that; comments :o)
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mosey levy adequate is not enough for us to be paying out about $1000 a year.
we need intuitive, easy to navigate.
ux is not just about good looks. the app is very cluttered. the menus are terrible. lots of redundancy around the app. aged graphics ...
i love the features of SM. . but i can't say I'm not looking for better options.
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Sarah I take your point, Mosey. When I used the word 'adequate' I was talking about the 'prettiness' of Studiometry, which seemed to be the main point of discussion. Perhaps I was wrong :o)
Those of us with access to 9beta now have a perfect opportunity to bring things like redundancy and suggestions for improved menus to the attention of the devs. Let's make the most of it ;o)
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mosey levy the very first thing i said on this thread:
love the functionality of your app,
but it desperately need a UX overhaul....
SM9 is scaring me. the calendar looks really bad. but they said not to comment on looks for this beta.
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Sarah Yes, Mosey. Again, I take your point. My comments were directed at the collective responses to your OP, not you directly. I apologise for any confusion.
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Michael Barker Sarah, I'm not sure whose comments you are referring to regarding 'prettiness' since I think the 'collective response' (my comments, Mosey's, David's) go to lengths to define the difference between good user interface design/experience and shallow 'prettiness'. In fact, your comment regarding redundancy and improved menus leads me to believe we are on the same page! I'm worried about Mosey's comments regarding the calendar as this is one of the areas I was hoping would be improved as it's completely useless to me at the moment in both form and function.
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Sarah Hello Michael :o)
I think we *are* all on the same page, to a point. However, there *have* been references to wanting Studiometry to be better looking. I simply have thrown in my 2c about that being an extremely low priority for me, personally.
"We constantly work on the interface and we need to keep a balance between having it be "pretty" as well as functional."
"i want the app to be sexy and fun to use.....i understand functionality is more important, but it can have both. "
"someone will make an amazing looking piece of software with a similar functionality set, and will outpace you"
"i would love to see studiometry on this site one day: http://beautifulpixels.com/"
Now, *please* don't take this reply as an 'attack' on anyone. I haven't objected to anything anyone said and I don't oppose placing importance on the look of Studiometry at the same time at feature set and usability. I feel I've been somewhat cornered into, first, clarifying my original response and then justifying my follow-ups and that's all I'm doing. :o)
Again, I don't disagree with anyone. I swear! ;o)
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Michael Barker I take your point — but I think what Mosey was trying to get at is best summed up when he says "its cluttered, and has 90's graphics . . how is that helpful when trying to manage so much information!" — this echoes my sentiment. The issue isn't the graphics specifically, it's the outmoded approach to UI design, and poor functionality in some visually-based tools (such as the menus, Gantt chart, calendar) which the graphics reflect. So to clarify my position too — I am not making an argument for making studiometry 'better-looking' as an end goal. I am advocating for a refined user interface/experience and better form and functionality. In a pinch, you can drive a nail with a brick, but a hammer is more efficient. As for your first quote from Studiometry itself, I think it's based on a misunderstanding that there is some disparity between good design and functionality — as if they were separate goals.
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Sarah Phew! Agreed, agreed, agreed. I feel I can breathe again ;o)
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mosey levy wait I'm pretty sure i can find a few more things to bother you about ....
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Sarah haha! Oh my GOD! Nothing you said *bothered* me! ;o)
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Oranged Support @Mosey RE: "SM9 is scaring me. the calendar looks really bad. but they said not to comment on looks for this beta."
You can definitely comment on the looks of the beta in the beta forums. We just don't want reports about duplicate/missing icons since they aren't all added into the beta yet. Also, the calendar looks haven't been changed at all from 8>9 except for a few requested options being added (coloring of items, etc).
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