iPad skin concept

This is a concept, which so far I've spent 20 minutes designing, as I said I am well aware of the iOS guidelines having designed for it before, I am not going to disregard them all together.

I will follow the guidelines as much as possible, all I'm saying is because of the feature set of XBMC I may not be able to follow them as much as I'd like.

daleanthony Wrote:This is a concept, which so far I've spent 20 minutes designing, as I said I am well aware of the iOS guidelines having designed for it before, I am not going to disregard them all together.

I will follow the guidelines as much as possible, all I'm saying is because of the feature set of XBMC I may not be able to follow them as much as I'd like.

Why on earth would you want to turn the interface of xbmc into a generic iOS application? Just my .02 but I would go for something unique.

Yes, don't make it look like an iOS application, do something unique and add some new ideas... first screenshot looks good but as hitcher said, center area is too dark, there has to be more contrast between text and background.

blacklist Wrote:Why on earth would you want to turn the interface of xbmc into a generic iOS application? Just my .02 but I would go for something unique.

Putting a unique twist on iOS would be a triumph, not generic

Just some ideas from me:

1: two separated libraries one for home network e.g. for users with nas/external hdd /…. (not everyone has broadband internet, in Germany wwan downstream is limited from provider so stream over www is a bit difficult)
Second library for “outdoor “ use where media is on internal storage.

I think most of people around here have more movies than an ipad 64gb can fit. Always editing library is not that comfortable. My opinion.


For a way to integrate the touch functionality I love xbmc commander after a bit you have inherited the gestures. It would be nice if they could be nearly the same so it’s easier to use for people which use both apps.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=81018

A skin look alike for xbmc would also be nice. But a whole new style would be a way better.


Musik library is for me not really necessary because its way easier to use ipod functionality for sync with itunes.

But a integrated comic/manga reader with a way to download from e.g. mangaeden.com or mangafox.com would be awesome

Hope my thinking is usefull in some way for someone

Nice weekend everyone

linus

Stranger Wrote:Putting a unique twist on iOS would be a triumph, not generic. The examples I posted are eclectic and there is nothing generic about them, they all meet high standard's that are a credit to the guidelines and trends of iOS. You wouldn't be 'turning the XBMC interface', you would be adapting it. If anything my point is there is a standard that iOS demands (deserves). XBMC does not have a standard when it comes to design, that is why there is a constant mess of concepts, incomplete skins and incredibly ignorant approaches to ideas.

Wow. Have an opinion much? I disagree when you criticize xbmc design as a mess of concepts and an ignorant approach to ideas. Its clear that a lot of skinners from xbmc are amatures at design, but unfortunately that is to be expected from an open source project. How many development dollars do you think went into the apps you posted screen shots of?

I will tell you this from my own experiance so far - design for xbmc is not easy. The skinning interface is designed to be incredibly flexible, but is also very limiting when trying to put together data naturally. When you're designing for ios you have a consistant tool kit to design buttons, animations, menus, etc. Which is where my comment about "generic" interface comes in. Many ios applicatikns have a "generic" feel to me since they are all for the most part using a standard and well-worn control set. With xbmc the sky is the limit, but also somewhat limiting, since there is a fairly steep learning curve to development.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I would suggest that rather than try and emulate what already exisits for ios, a Skinner would be better served to work within the framework of xbmc to deliver something useable and a media-rich experiance. That being said, Paper Street will mostly likely work very poorly on my ipad, so maybe after Ronie and I finish it up ill take a swing at an ios skin. Otherwise, I look foreward to seeing the direction design for these devices takes.

blacklist Wrote:With xbmc the sky is the limit, but also somewhat limiting, since there is a fairly steep learning curve to development.

blacklist Wrote:Anyway, I'm rambling. I would suggest that rather than try and emulate what already exisits for ios, a Skinner would be better served to work within the framework of xbmc to deliver something useable and a media-rich experiance.

but I don't understand what you mean by 'the framework'?

Stranger Wrote:I admire that line.

That's why I get paid the big bucks.

Quote:but I don't understand what you mean by 'the framework'?

I just mean to make an xbmc skin fit into an ios mold is going be a challenge, given the current "framework" of what dialogs, etc are required by xbmc. I think rather than making it fit with current ios design esthetics, time would be better spent on how to deliver the current xbmc experiance in a touch screen, gesture driven world.

blacklist Wrote:I just mean to make an xbmc skin fit into an ios mold is going be a challenge, given the current "framework" of what dialogs, etc are required by xbmc. I think rather than making it fit with current ios design esthetics, time would be better spent on how to deliver the current xbmc experiance in a touch screen, gesture driven world.

That sounds like the clearest path to take, I just hope the design takes some inspiration from iOS in regards to textures and type, especially type.

OK, I see the image now. Looks great, no skins like it for xbmc so it's certainly unique.