GUI ELEMENTS OF A SOFTWARE

Task: Examine the interface of a particular software application, examine a particular feature within the program, and reproduce a visual element of interest.

The program that I chose to assess was Adobe Illustrator CS6.

Adobe Illutrator CS6 with an empty workspace.

When opening Adobe Illustrator, the default view is as follows: a large blank area in the centre, tools represented by icons on either side, and  a menu bar with drop-down menus at the top.

 

The way that the program's interface is laid out is a personal favourite feature of mine, as it is both functional and visually pleasing. Having the tools shown as small icons on the side allows a large amount of space for the user to work in. This way, all the tools are easily and readily available, while not being in the way at all. There is also an option to customise the interface by dragging and dropping certain elements, as well as what tool windows are displayed on the right side. This can be customised according to specialised pre-made presets such as 'Painting', 'Tracing', and 'Web', as well as to the user's personal preference.

 

The next part of the task was to chose a particular element within the program and reproduce as accurately as possible. The element I chose was the pair of colour icons that are displayed when one has artboards open (namely the fill colour and the line colour icons).

 

Reproducing the icons was confusing and overwhelming at first, as it required me to pay attention to all the detail in the icons which I had never noticed before, and work out how to recreate them. In order to get an accurate result, I used rulers and guides to align the shapes. After working out what shapes I had to create and where to place them, I created the icons. To replicate colours accurately, I used the eye-dropper tool. Creating these icons was a task that I had never attempted before, but all in all it was very rewarding as I could test my abilities in making vector-based visuals and examine as to where I could make improvements.

 Screenshot of the icons (top) and reproduction (bottom).