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Future trends in skins

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Future trends in skins

from WinCustomize Forums
It strikes me that as screen resolutions increase we are faced with a choice.

a) design things at the same size (in pixels) and hence have everything get smaller and smaller as resolution increases

b) design things bigger (within reason!) so that they can take advantage of increase detail whilst staying approximately the same final size to the user.

At present, it seems that most people (me included) are happy to luxuriate in the increased desktop realestate liberated by ever shrinking icons/window borders etc...BUT, what about when screens become 4000x3000 pixels?

Current skin/icon designs at that resolution on even a 19" screen (assuming that to be common in the future) would render even a 128x128 pixel icon at less than 1/2 an inch (1.23cm) across - and more worryingly, a 4 pixel window frame border at just 0.4 mm!

There will undoubtedly be changes to the way the GUI works in that time (Longhorn developments regarding use of Direct3D and emphasis of vector based interface designs noted), but is there milage in designing skins that will take advantage of these developments?

It would mean windows that are incredibly "chunky" looking on a current display @ 1024x768, or even 1400x1050 - but these designs will look great as technology catches up

Whatcha think?
14,508 views 32 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The issue of size of an icon with a higher resolution...like 4000 x 3000 pixels is determinate on whether the 'screen' is the same size with a smaller dot pitch or has the same dot pitch as now and the screen is simply larger.

The former means the icon is a fraction of its 'original' size, the latter means it's the same size......but you will need to sit further from the screen to see all of it and the icon will be hence smaller through distance.

Quite different issues...

Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
jafo - I was assuming in this that the screen can physically display the pixels that are thrown at it, hence the dot pitch being up to the task...something CRTs are not likely to be able to do without growing to huge proportions LCDs on the other hand are cramming more and more physical real pixels (OK, so some of them may not work ) into a smaller and smaller area...they already cram 1600x1200 actual pixels into a 16" screen area, so in 12 months, who knows? BTW - on the laptop with that screen - not one failed pixel
[Message Edited]
CursorFX - Customize your Windows cursor
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
OK I have to admit now that Windows does scale certain elements based on the DPI the video card driver is set to. When did it start doing this? Or is it just the Trident driver on here that's doing this?

Anhow, I've now discovered a completely new way to make a carfully sized and designed skin look awful! It seems that some elements of the start menu for instance are scaled based on the content, regardless of the "fixed" sizes I though were set for them....

Messing with DPIs from 48 to 200+ backwards and forwards has also left me trying to type this with a font on screen at about 5 point even though it's ow back the the default 96dpi....strange things going on!
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yikes...my spelling/typing is awful when I can't read what I'm typing (see above)...
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I don't understand any of the above posts......

just shoot me!

 

Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think you're right in that things will stay about the same general size, but increase greatly in detail..

I also think, or hope at least, that skins will become more organic, freeform. More tuned to the way people use their computers, move away from the box..

Just because the screen is square, doesn't mean the GUI has to be.
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
i'm just lurking. but i wanted to say this is quite the interesting discussion, even though i believe its irrelevent.

the skins will have to evolve to be 'larger' if the standard resolution becomes so intense. i still see 15 to 17in monitors being the home standard for many years to come, regardless if we're using crt's, flat screens, or holigraphic projections. if the res goes high and the screen stats small, the gui's will have to be enlarged to compensate or else it just won't be readable. but it does comes down to user preference. some people like slim bars and are happy with anything being scaled down minimalist. others like really thick bars. so some people may not change or may make 'high res' varients of their work. looking at the change between windows 98 and now, of course skinning will compensate.