labview aesthetic

[RTSLVU]

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@altenbach wrote:

Here's an example of what not to do...

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I'm an Engineer not an Artist.

As hard as I try that's what every panel I try to customize looks like. 

I asked for a LabVIEW "Skinning Engine" years ago and was ignored. 

[zou]

1. Use Flat-Line style

2. Use decors to group controls together, separate from indicators

3. Use large and/or bold font for data need user attention

4. Add company logo to fill blank area

5. Add a timestamp to show the VI is not hang

[Yamaeda]

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@altenbach wrote:

Here's an example of what not to do...

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In the number cluster all texts should be different fonts and sizes! 😄 And offset ofcourse, they can't be aligned and not the same size of the box!

[altenbach]

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@Yamaeda wrote:
In the number cluster all texts should be different fonts and sizes! 😄 And offset ofcourse, they can't be aligned and not the same size of the box!

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Well, making a VI really ugly takes a lot of time and effort (which I don't have!). I'd rather spend time on the diagram!

In the words of Dolly Parton: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap".  😮

[Jay14159265]

Some ideas in the PlotDemo.vi attached. This was a fun response to a coworker emphatically claiming you could not customize plots in LabVIEW. 

[somelabguy]

Hey sorry for late reply, i kinda like this, could you send the file if you still have it?

ty

[Jay14159265]

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@somelabguy wrote:

Hey sorry for late reply, i kinda like this, could you send the file if you still have it?

ty

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You need to use @ or quote to let people know who / which post you are talking about. 

[Chris.Osiecki]

One thing you could keep in mind is how long your user will be looking at the data. If it is for extended periods of time, consider using colors that are easier on the eyes. I have most of my graphs with darker backgrounds and light blue labels because our folks are looking at data all day long. Bright white graphs and high contrast controls can fatigue the eyes. It also matters how the user is looking at your graphs. If they are sitting at the monitor, it's fine to use default font sizes, but if they are looking at the screen from across the lab, or even just several feet away, make sure numbers, labels, and plot lines are large enough to be read.

[Basjong53]

My opinion is that the user shouldn't be able to recognize which programming language is used for a program. LabVIEW has the reputation of having bad looking interfaces (because it is almost too easy to get a working program, so no effort is taken into making it look nice).

When I make programs for users, I try to stick as much as possible to system controls, as users are familiar with them. Occasionally, custom controls are necessary, but they shoud always adhere to the flat/material design guidelines.

Here is an example of a small program I made to control a motorized stage

Some of my self imposed guidelines:

1. System controls
2. Flat/material design
3. White/light grey backgrounds
4. Units on controls go outside the control
5. Labels/captions left aligned for vertically stacked controls/indicators
6. Status bar on top-level windows

[altenbach]

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@DavidBoyd wrote:

One very simple change I would suggest... change those numerics to right-justified.  Why that isn't the template standard after all these years, I'll never understand.

I ALWAYS want my numerics to grow in magnitude from right to left.

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The default left alignment is also completely unsuitable for horizontal plot legend where the wrong text is right next to the style if the legends differ in width.