[Bf-committers] UI changes from cycles branch

["Martin Bürbaum"]

Brecht Van Lommel <brechtvanlommel at pandora.be> wrote:
> Here's a patch with a subset of the UI changes in the cycles branch
> that I'd like to merge into trunk. Are there any objections to this?
> 
> Before: http://www.pasteall.org/pic/show.php?id=19452
> After: http://www.pasteall.org/pic/show.php?id=19453

Below are my opinions about the patch, made by comparing the two screenshots. So this obviously excludes issues & improvements that might show up in different areas of Blender.

Background: I program python add-ons and use Blender in my spare time.

I agree with Ton that some things should be handled by allowing custom designs, but some things with the default style could & should be improved nevertheless.
	
--------------
Positive

> * Panel header changed look & smaller

+1

Love the change of the headers in the patch, makes it easier (for me) to scan. The current seperator-line + bigger text feels like clutter, never was a fan of that.

Not sure if the size change of the text is neccesary, but the "bar" helps a lot IMO.

I'd really like to see this in the default style Blender.

> * Toolbar/properties expand button look

Big +

The current look seems seems rather floaty.

Again, I'd like to see this in the default style Blender.

--------------
Negative

> * Remove button emboss
> * More subtle colors and gradients on buttons

http://www.pasteall.org/pic/show.php?id=19453

-1 for the end result (not sure if the emboss is directly involved)

It is already a fine line with the current default design.

In the patch I can NOT differenciate between e.g. buttons and a text box on a first glance.
After looking for a few seconds one can deduce what's what, but that's not a good design decision IMHO.

> * Screen splitting widgets look
> * Black arrows on menu button

I'm more or less indifferent about these, but I imagine that this will cause other people trouble. (e.g. Sometimes hiding interface options for beginners and in the worst case even experienced users).

Increasing the contrast just a tad might help a lot here (darker or lighter). I'm certain there exists a good middle ground.

--------------
Indifferent

> * Remove emboss on areas and regions

Don't care, I think both look nice and usable.
Only problem that I could imagine would be if the "grab" area of the edge gets smaller as well? That would be bad, but not a problem with the graphical design.

Cheers,
Martin