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 NeXTSTEP Interface: Fix a vertical menu column at the upper left and a vertical icon strip at the right edge, and give the space between them to the work. Windows are meant to overlap, so a black title bar is the only marker of the one in hand.
- Type
- Set in NeXTSTEP Interface's manner (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.), and let Swiss's lettering (Neutral sans-serif; be bold with size contrast) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in NeXTSTEP Interface's material (Work in four steps from white to black and admit no hue. Assume one light source above, and keep every bevel consistent with it.); bring in exactly one thing from Swiss (White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament).
- Colour
- Build on #AAAAAA, #555555, #000000 and admit one accent from #f1efe8, #ed3b22, #121210.
Where they fight
These two are already listed as related, so the join should come easily.
Caution
- 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.
- Swiss Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from NeXTSTEP Interface (Style, 1988–1997) and its accent from Swiss (Style, 1950s–). Structural cues: 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. Accent cues, used sparingly: Strict grid; Sans-serif type; Asymmetry; Objective photography. Composition: Fix a vertical menu column at the upper left and a vertical icon strip at the right edge, and give the space between them to the work. Windows are meant to overlap, so a black title bar is the only marker of the one in hand.. Type and 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.. Let one material quality come from the second style: White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament. Mood: Technology, Calm, Luxury, Trust. Color: build on #AAAAAA, #555555, #000000 with a single accent drawn from #f1efe8, #ed3b22, #121210. 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
- 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.
- Swiss 1950s– / Style / Functionalism
Puts order front and center and makes the information itself the protagonist.
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