Templates / Design ideas?

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iTISTIC

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As most programmers, when it comes to designing a form that is
appeasing to the eye, I am a bit lacking. The forms look neat, but are
not very appealing at all. Anyone have any form templates, color
schemes, or anything that would help me design a better looking form?

My clients are paying for functionality, not graphical excellence, but
I'd like to provide them with a product that is appealing to the eye as
well.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn
 
well, appealing is in the eye of the beholder (or user, in this case). what
may look appealing to you and i (who like to do cool things <g>), or
appealing a manager, who sees a form for 2 minutes when you demonstrate the
db, and what will look appealing to a user who has to stare at the form for
sometimes very long periods of time, and do his/her work quickly and
efficiently with as little eye strain as possible - may be two very
different things.

i've found that, in general, hard bright colors, fancy type or shadows or
controls outlined in color, and a crowded "busy" window, can all contribute
to eye-strain and make it unpleasant and even difficult for the user to look
at and use a form for extended periods. though i love color and love to make
things "pretty" (or impressive <g>), i've learned to keep the eye-catching
formatting confined mostly to introductory or "main menu" windows. for data
entry/display forms, in SingleForm and ContinuousForm view which can have a
lot of "background" showing, i generally stick with the default gray. while
boring, it is easy on the eyes, and doesn't distract attention from the
data. i use color sparingly, judiciously, and usually in a standardized
"code" in all the forms in the database. for instance, Red (198, not 255)
may be used on all Quit buttons; Green on all Save buttons or Continue
buttons; Dark Blue, bold for all data entry fields. this can have a
subliminal effect in helping users quickly grasp the context of what they're
seeing, and subtly drawing their attention where you want it to go.

the above is all based on my own development experiences, and data entry
experiences, too - i've spent considerable time on "that side of the fence",
as well. you'll no doubt get differing opinions from others.

hth
 
You make a very good point. Thanks for the response. Maybe I will focus
on a more appealing menu system, but keep data entry forms simpler.
 
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