I have seen apps where the main toolbar is placed at the bottom or vertically to the right of the window to minimize mouse movement. The most frequent and basic commands are placed to the left, so the upper left corner of the UI is usually considered the most important position. They know that the top horizontal toolbar contains the most general and important commands.
This is why we should always keep standard menus, widgets, and buttons in their standard positions, if possible.įor example, Windows® and Mac users won’t think twice about the position of the main menu and toolbar. Take advantage of what the user should already be familiar with regarding user interfaces and they will feel as if they are traveling well-known terrain. Use Well-Known Design Standardsīy following certain design standards, we avoid potential confusion and create comfort in the app user. For Windows® operating system and Mac OS, business-oriented apps should follow the look and feel of the operating systems in a fairly strict way. We want the design to look modern, but we should stick to the standards of the relevant operating systems. This means that we should not try to invent new user interface designs unless we have a very good reason and a lot of resources for doing so. Therefore, the graphical design should not draw any attention away from the app itself.Īs COMSOL Multiphysics users, most of us are engineers, not designers. User interfaces are a means for controlling an app’s operations.
When building a simulation app, we should be creative, but with purpose. Make Creative and Conservative Graphic Design Choices
Read on to learn how to build apps with design and structure in mind. Through my experience reviewing the demo apps included with the Application Library, I have come up with some general tips for creating functional app UIs. Students can vary a few parameters, compute and study the simulation results, and create a report from their studies, all with minimal instructions. An educational app for modeling tubular reactors with radial and axial composition and temperature variations. The UI of an app should be clearly and pedagogically organized so that the user understands what he or she is supposed to do with the app, and why, with a minimal need for instructions.įigure 1. However, we as engineers need to follow some guidelines to create straightforward and effective simulation app designs. In the design of app UIs, the Form Editor and Method Editor in the Application Builder offer almost unlimited freedom. For example, a very simple app may allow the user to change only a geometrical dimension, such as the length of an electric motor, and press a button to compute the simulation results, such as the power and torque for the electric motor. The Application Builder enables you to build apps based on existing models that include user interfaces (UIs) for specific purposes. Providing a Better User Experience for Simulation Apps In the first installment of a two-part blog series, we give a few guidelines that will help you create apps with a clear, streamlined design and structure. But as engineers, we need to balance our creativity with focus to avoid disorder in our simulation app design.
The Application Builder in the COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation software offers almost unlimited freedom in the design of apps.