Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Aqua: Components evenly spaced, gaps left for shadows to fall into
- Type
- Set in Aqua's manner (No shadow on text, weighted to stay legible over gloss), and let NeXTSTEP Interface's lettering (Run one Helvetica style face throughout and build hierarchy from weight and size alone. Leave unavailable commands in place in dark gray instead of removing them.) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Aqua's material (A hard white highlight above, reflection and deep shadow below); bring in exactly one thing from NeXTSTEP Interface (Work in four steps from white to black and admit no hue. Assume one light source above, and keep every bevel consistent with it.).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #AAAAAA, #555555, #000000.
Where they fight
- Aqua and NeXTSTEP Interface share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over.
Caution
- Aqua Gloss and shadow applied evenly to every component hides what is actually pressable, leaving texture where hierarchy should be.
- NeXTSTEP Interface Reproduce the grays and then add one saturated accent, and the premise that value carries hierarchy fails, taking the reading order of the whole screen with it.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Aqua (Style, 2000–2014) and its accent from NeXTSTEP Interface (Style, 1988–1997). Structural cues: Gel-gloss buttons; Pinstriped grounds; Deep drop shadows; Metaphors of water and light. Accent cues, used sparingly: A menu standing as a vertical column at the upper left, submenus attaching to its right; Square application icons docked in a vertical strip along the right edge of the screen; Thick bevels carved entirely from gray values, with no hue anywhere in them; A black title bar on the window taking keystrokes, dark gray on a window that is merely frontmost. Composition: Components evenly spaced, gaps left for shadows to fall into. Type and lettering: No shadow on text, weighted to stay legible over gloss. Let one material quality come from the second style: Work in four steps from white to black and admit no hue. Assume one light source above, and keep every bevel consistent with it.. Mood: Futurism, Play, Intimacy, Technology, Calm, Luxury. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #AAAAAA, #555555, #000000. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Aqua 2000–2014 / Style / Apple UI
Mac OS X's design language of buttons you want to lick. Jelly gloss, pinstripes, deep shadows and the genie effect staged digital components as objects you could touch, and set the terms for UI throughout the 2000s. What the web made of it with images is Web 2.0 Gloss.
- NeXTSTEP Interface 1988–1997 / Style / Platform Screen Languages
The screen language NeXT laid down in its 1993 interface guidelines. The document states the goal outright: a color scheme based on black, white, and gray, and a simple appearance that uses shading for a three dimensional effect. The main menu stands as a vertical column at the upper left, and docked application icons run down the right edge.
Share this pairing:https://indexstyle.org/compose?ids=aqua+nextstep-ui