http://www.creativetaurus.com

http://www.stereosuper.fr

http://www.perfect-layout.com

http://2ttf.com

http://www.pimderks.com

http://www.codegeister.com

http://xhtmlcafe.net

http://coolsanto.com

It’s a wrap. This session has covered a mix of interface design topics. We’ve looked at quite a bit of inspirational icon and graphic user interface design articles, after reviewing theory on topics like creating user friendly interfaces. We’ve reviewed both in depth detailed tutorials and case studies. This session posted across numerous Tuts+ sites: Nettuts+, Psdtuts+, and Mobiletuts+. We’ll continue to expand each session as we cover new topics and integrate your feedback. Let us know what you think of this session’s material.

Interface Design – CS Content

• 

  Getting Started with Interface Design

  In this article we look at five fields that you should aim to learn more about in order to rock at interface design. These fields include Experience Design, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, User-Centered Design, and Graphic User Interface (GUI) Design.

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• 

  Three Steps to Fostering a User-Centered Design Culture

  As responsible designers we must educate clients on the importance – both the validity as well as the viability – of the user-centered design process, one that gives due consideration to the needs of potential users. With the three steps that follow, we’ll go over techniques that you can use to get your team thinking about what’s really important with regards to the design of their websites you’ll help them create.

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• 

  Roughly Speaking: Working within Mobile UI Design Limitations

  Today we chat with two mobile user interface designers about how they design successful mobile interfaces and intuitive navigation solutions. We’ll learn how Sacha Greif works with the limited space of the iPad by using space saving UI Elements. Eryk Pastwa discusses how to design for multiple mobile sizes, and how to properly test designs for maximum real world uses. Take a peek at their workflows, and the best practices they both put into place in their projects.

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• 

  Showcase of Macintosh Dashboard Widget UI Designs

  This inspirational compilation post showcases a collection of 32 creative, unique and easy to use Apple Macintosh Dashboard Widgets, including a selection of default widgets that ship with your Apple Mac, and a good handful or two of third party widgets.

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• 

  Designing Realistic Interfaces – Part 1

  You have to be great in many areas of Photoshop to be good at interface design. So along with the actual steps needed to create this particular interface, in this series I will also provide as many references to other tutorials, resources and concepts as possible. That way, you can have access to some of the tools that will allow you to create completely original interfaces utilizing the same methods I teach in collaboration with your own creativity. Let’s get started with Part 1 of this two part series.

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• 

  Designing Realistic Interfaces – Part 2

  You have to be great in many areas of Photoshop to be good at interface design. So along with the actual steps needed to create this particular interface, in this series I will also provide as many references to other tutorials, resources and concepts as possible. That way, you can have access to some of the tools that will allow you to create completely original interfaces utilizing the same methods I teach in collaboration with your own creativity. Let’s move on with Part 2 of this two part series.

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• 

  Know Your Icons Part 1 – A Brief History of Computer Icons

  As with great works of art, you must look into the past to appreciate the future. With roots as far back as the 1970′s, the humble icon has come a long way. Following is a collection of icons though history. Although there have been many other operating systems in the time between 1981 – 2010, I’ve hand picked the ones of the most significance to modern icon design. These designs show just a small fraction of the icons in the many and varied User Interfaces throughout the years.

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• 

  Know Your Icons Part 2 – Modern Icon Design

  In the last installment you learned about the history of icon design and how it has evolved from black and white representations of office items into full colored, glassy, hyper-rendered, isometric representations of… office items. In this installment I will be delving further into the world of icons and exploring what icons mean to us today.

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• 

  Exploring Graphic User Interface Styles – from Minimal to Futuristic

  A user interface (UI) can come in many styles ranging graphically from very simple, all the way to extremely complex. In this article we are going to explore a range of styles demonstrating that there isn’t just one recipe for creating a good looking, and ultimately successful user interface. Of course, not every style is represented in this article; we will be exploring several high-quality examples, representing a wide range of graphical styles from simple to complex. Enjoy!

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• 

  iPad Magazine Interface Design

  A great magazine is more than just a collection of articles around a theme or idea, it’s a curated editorial experience. Through layout design and copy it can take you to different places and teach you new things. The release of the iPad has kicked off the latest chapter in the history of magazine design. I’ve been working with a startup, Sideways.com, to create our own magazine publishing platform and here is what we’ve done.

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Your Thoughts on this Digital Illustration Session

We’d love to here your feedback and suggestions on how to improve Creative Sessions. We’re actively working to improve this project, by consistently adding more high quality material, and new intensive two week sessions releasing each month. We look forward to your comments.

Psdtuts+

http://www.madebywater.com

http://www.seocontentdesigner.com

http://www.radubotez.com

http://drxlr.com

In the last installment you learned about the history of icon design and how it has evolved from black and white representations of office items into full colored, glassy, hyper-rendered, isometric representations of… office items. In this installment I will be delving further into the world of icons and exploring what icons mean to us today.

What is an Icon?

i·con – noun (Computers) a picture or symbol that appears on a monitor and is used to represent a command, as a file drawer to represent filing — dictionary.com

So we know the meaning of “Icon” in the traditional computing sense of the word, but how does this explain all the illustrative icons we see today? How is a beautifully rendered image of a Teapot, Space Ship or Bucket of Chicken supposed to represent something within the user interface? There’s a few answers to this question.

• Application Icons: Application icons are a great example of un-conventional design. These icons often have a strong trend towards memorable images over representations of the application itself.
• Website Navigation: Website navigation is another place you’ll find some unusual “icon” designs. The interpretation of the icon is dependant on the context in which it is used, it’s OK to use an un-conventional design as long as the audience knows what it’s function is.
• Format: Some designs defy explanation, such as “Form over Function.” This means that the icon has been designed purely for aesthetics.

No matter how strict or unusual your design is, all icons should be made to specification – there will be more about that soon.

Below you will see a breakdown of modern icon design. Some people may argue that the icons on the “illustration” side of the chart shouldn’t be considered icons. This is partly true, they’re not traditional icons, but they are Modern Icons in the sense that they could represent applications, games or a specific context.

The icons on the left side of the chart are icons that would be considered to be Traditional Icons with a modern twist. We immediately associate these icons with their function, this is achieved by over 30 years of visual language, which is a powerful factor in the designs success.

The icons down the middle of the chart are icons that are neither illustrative or informative, but a combination of both. The Envelope is traditional because of its form, but it could be perceived differently due to its rendering, a design like this works best within a certain context. The Blue Twitter Bird has immediate recognition from internet users, but is reduced to an illustration of a blue bird for non-users (like my mum) and the stylistic GTalk Bubble is also fairly reliant on brand association.

Conventions and Specifications

When designing icons for an interface you can’t go past convention. Check previous designs for an indication of how to approach yours. You will find that most Software packages and User Interfaces have similar icons, this is because of User Experience (UX). If a user is suddenly confronted with a design that they’re not expecting or comfortable with, they’re likely to get confused.

If you’re designing for a specific platform, always check the developers notes before you start, these will give you an idea of the size, perspective, and color palette you should be using. You can find links to both the Apple and Microsoft developers notes in the “Resources and Further Reading” section at the end of this post.

Modern Specifications

Icon specifications get more complicated with each new technology or operating system. Windows and Mac are in an Arms Race over icon size, with the largest icon to date measuring a massive 512 pixels. The trend for huge icons has much to do with modern screen resolutions, but there’s also a certain drool factor with a giant, perfectly rendered icon. Look at the examples below if you don’t believe me!

Now that I’ve shown you the Drool Worthy icons, let’s move onto some icons I’ve designed myself. The example below is a de-constructed .ICO file made in my previous life as an icon and interface designer (those who know me as LoungeKat probably didn’t know this fact). The main 256px icon has been made in Adobe Photoshop with shapes and layer styles, it was then re-scaled for each individual size (64, 48, 32, 16) and imported into Microangelo Toolset to be combined as an .ICO. The 256px icon isn’t part of the icon file itself, but included in the software as a Transparent PNG that windows calls on if the size is required. This keeps the file size down.

As you can see, I’ve used a few variations on the design depending on the color depth and size of the icon. Icons include all of these sizes and color spaces to accommodate all of the different ways that they can be viewed by the operating system.

It’s important to design each size separately, scaling a large image can make the design look blurry. When you’re designing a 16px icon it’s always best to get right down to pixel view. As you can see, a few well placed pixels can convey much more than you think. You can read additional information on Icons, various specifications, and industry recommendations in Axialis Software’s icon guide.

To get a better understanding of icons I would suggest looking at as many different operating systems, programs, interfaces and portals as possible. Think about the different way color and metaphor is used for each application. Which icons stand out as being easy to understand (perhaps the folder or trash can strike you as the most recognizable?), which icons need further explaining? Trust me, you will be surprised what you find out about the psychology behind the visual language we use every day and often take for granted.

Resources & Further Reading

• Candybar – Software to Organize and Customize Mac OS X icons
• Icon Builder – Adobe Photoshop and Fireworks “Icon Creation” for Mac and Windows
• Microangelo – The “Grand-Daddy” of Icon Software (it really is!)
• Axialis IconWorkshop – Software to make Mac and PC icons
• Ember- Image Site with a Great Showcase of UI Designs
• Microsoft Developer Network – Style guide for Windows Vista/7
• Microsoft Developer Network – Style guide for Windows XP
• Apple Human Interface Guidelines – Style guide for Mac OSX
• GUIPulp – Desktop Customization Resource
• 7 Principles of Effective Icon Design – Psdtuts+
• Computer Icon – Wikipedia

Psdtuts+

http://www.le28thiers.fr

http://2amdesign.co.uk

Successful interfaces allow you to use them easily – they should feel seamless with the device you’re accessing with, and the experience you’re having. Successful interface designers have a theoretical foundation in numerous fields, which focus on planning and delivering great user experiences, as well as a strong graphic sensibility which they use to create interfaces that are attractive and fun to interact with. In this session we cover numerous subjects on Interface Design.

There are many fields that have risen in the last few years, such as Experience Design, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, and User-Centered Design that form the backbone of your interface design. We’ll be getting into these subjects in this session to give you a theoretical foundation and some starting points for study. We’ll also bring all this together and discuss interface design workflows of professionals and provide materials to learn Graphic User Interface (GUI) Design to get you on your way to creating professional interfaces.

Head over to our article on Getting Started with Interface Design to get going with a broad overview of interface design.

Participate in this Session’s Group Project

Jump over to this Session’s creative project on Create an Application Icon or Dashboard Widget. Choose the project to participate in that best fits your skill level and interest. This session’s Beginner/Intermediate project the brief is to make an icon for applications, which is great practice for building your GUI skills.

We also have an Advanced project where you design a widget, which is a great way to get some hands on experience with designing interfaces, as they are typically smaller apps with a tight focus. You can post your projects in the comments here and get some feedback from the community.

Download this Session’s Cover Art as a Digital Wallpaper

Jump over to this session introduction to download this session’s wallpapers made by Wojciech Pijecki.

More Creative Sessions

Every month we’ll be running a two week Session on a creative topic. This Session is on Interface Design, and future Sessions will be on varied topics like, gaming design, and creative freelancing, and more. Unlike regular Tuts+ content, Sessions content is more theoretical, opinion based and will often cross many disciplines.

Psdtuts+

http://www.the1stmovement.com

http://osrodekzielona.pl

http://www.hybridixstudio.com

http://creamscoop.com

http://www.pixelunion.net

http://www.houtos.com

www.tagexpert.com

http://campfirebelly.com

www.lega-lega.com

www.madeinhaus.com

2010.dconstruct.org

slidescreenhome.com

www.designeus.hr

www.nathanhackley.com

www.derryhoyland.com

www.xhtmlkitchen.com

everytimeidie.net

hugsformonsters.com

pocedulic.com

ipadpockettees.com

www.wpyuzu.com

www.trackrecordapp.com

Step 1

First, go to File > New. Then change the Properties as is shown below:

Step 2

Now you will need to find a photo to use a reference. To do this, just head over to Google and run an image search. Once you’ve found a photo, place it into your document by going to File > Place, then center it as shown below.

Step 3

Make a new Folder, name it “Screen”. Then, make a new Layer and name it “Screen_BG.” Make sure you insert the “Screen_BG” layer to the “Screen” Folder.

Step 4

In the “Screen_BG” layer draw a Rounded Rectangle (Shift + U) on the MacBook’s Screen with a Radius of 15px as shown below.

Step 5

Now apply the following Layer Styles to our “Screen_BG” layer.

Step 6

Draw a Rounded Rectangle (Shift + U) over the edge of the MacBook’s screen with a Radius of 15px and choose a black color. Name this layer “Screen_Middle”.

Step 7

Apply the following layer styles to Screen_Middle.

Step 8

Create a new layer and name it “Screen_Middle_Light1″ and drag it to our “Screen” Folder. With the layer selected use the Rectangle Marquee Tool (Shift + M) and draw a rectangle as shown below. After that, fill this selection with a transparent to white gradient using the Gradient Tool (Shift + G). Then, Cmd + Click the “Screen_BG” layer’s thumbnail and then Cmd + Shift + I and hit delete. Finally, reduce the “Screen_Middle_Light1″ layer’s opacity to 65%.

Step 9

Now we have to draw the MacBook Pro’s screen. First, draw a Rectangle using the Rectangle Tool (Shift + U). Make sure the rectangle is black, and draw it above the MacBook Pro’s Screen. Name this layer “Screen” and drag it to our “Screen” Folder. Then, apply the layer styles as shown below.

Step 10

Now let’s add a reflection to the MacBook’s screen. Create a new layer and name it “Screen_Light1″, use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (Shift + L) and draw the following shape.

Step 11

With the “Screen_Light1″ layer selected, use the Gradient Tool (Shift + G) to apply a white to transparent gradient, make sure you select the Linear Option a shown in the following images, when you are done deselect the selection using Cmd + D.

Step 12

Cmd + Click the “Screen” layer’s thumbnail and then Cmd + Shift + I and then hit delete (Make sure to be in the “Screen_Light1″ layer). After that, reduce the opacity to 62%.

At this point your illustration should look similar to the image below.

Step 13

Our screen is ready! Now we have to create everything else. First, make a new Folder and call it: “Body”. Then, make a new layer and use the Pen Tool (Shift + P) to trace the laptop’s body, make sure to have the “Paths” option selected as in the following image. Drag this layer into the “Body” Folder and call it “Top_Body”.

Step 14

With the “Top_Body” layer selected hit Cmd + Enter to make a selection. Then fill this selection with a gray color.

Step 15

Apply the following layer styles.

Step 16

Now lets create the outer body, this is very similar to Step 14. Create a new layer and name it “Outer_Body” and insert it in the “Body” Folder. With the layer selected use the Pen Tool (Shift+P) and trace the outer part. When you’re done fill it with a different gray tone.

Step 17

Apply the following layer styles to the “Outer_Body” layer.

Step 18

Now, we will create the laptop’s opening. To do this, make a new layer in the same Folder and call it “Opening_Body”. Repeat steps 14 and 16.

Step 19

Apply the following layer styles to the “Opening_Body” layer.

Step 20

Now, we have to draw the sunken area where the keyboard goes. Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (Shift + U) with a radius of 5px and a color that you can distinguish from the body’s gray. Then, draw a rectangle, select Cmd + T to bring up the Transform Tools, right-click the rectangle and then choose Perspective and play with it until it looks similar to the shape below. Name this layer “Keyboard_Sunken”.

Step 21

Apply the following layer styles.

Step 22

Now let’s create the TrackPad. We have to make a Rounded Rectangle (Shift+U) with a Radius of 5px, and do the same steps to transform it as we did on Step 20 and of course apply some layer styles. Name this layer “TrackPad” and drag it inside the “Body” Folder.

Step 23 (Optional)

In case you are building a different kind of laptop you can add a separation on the TrackPad. This step is optional because the new MacBook Pro doesn’t have this line. Anyway, select the Line Tool (Shift + U) and make one black line and one white line, give them a weight of 1px. You will realize that it makes two different separate layers, so you have to merge them. Select the two layers and the press Cmd + E. Then, change the name of the merged layer to “TrackPad_Line” and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and reduce the Opacity to 26%. Also, erase a little bit the edges using the Eraser Tool (Shift + E).

Step 24

Before we start work on the Keyboard, we need to add lots of small details, such as the webcam, the power button, etc. So, go to the “Screen” Folder and make a new Folder, Name this Folder “WebCam”. Make a new layer and call it “Webcam”. Take the Ellipse Tool (Shift + U) and draw a circle as shown.

Step 25

Also add the MacBook Pro text (use Helvetica or Myriad Pro), the Infrared sensor, and the power button.

Step 26

Finally, we will start work on the Keyboard. Make a new Folder and name it “Keyboard”. Grab the Pen Tool (Shift + P) and trace as we did it in the Step 14. Make sure to make the keys in three positions.

Step 27

Now duplicate these layers (Hold Alt and Click and Drag) and complete the KeyBoard, remember to drag these layers on a folder named “KeyBoard”. You should also make a new shape for the Space Bar, Delete Button, etc.

Step 28

To finish things off, use the gradient tool to add a background as shown below. You may also choose to add a reflection. To do this, duplicate all your layers, flip them vertically, place as shown below and lower their opacity. In addition, you can add a shadow as well using a blurred black rectangle as shown.

Conclusion

Take a look at the final image. I hope you learned something new!

Psdtuts+

www.trivektor.ca

www.eddpolska.com

www.three23.net

www.jayeshpatel.in/#home.com

www.fsdsign.com/#fs.com

www.artifecs.com

www.www.buzapp.com

www.fullyillustrated.com/

www.thefreelancefeed.com