Making Design Patterns Work in Practice

I just posted on our corporate design blog about  <shameless plug> Making Design Patterns Work in Practice. </shameless plug>  We don't normally like to re-post, but I thought it was relevant to demonstrate some of the thinking that goes into our design practices inside the Factory and how it dovetails somewhat with architectural design. This is also closely related to Erik's recent post on consistency. Please note, we realize that we have a ways to go before we follow our own interaction design patterns fully - but this illustrates the direction we are headed.

_tom

Comments

[iyyy69]

I'm a fan of "The Pattern Language" (always have a copy by my desk), and I certainly find the idea of applying a pattern language to the design of software to be an intriguing one.

However, one of the mistakes made with a pattern language is the impression that anyone can create good designs with it.

The concept of there being "grammar" also exposes a challenge. Someone can have a perfect understanding of grammar but not be a good writer.

It's really easy to see project managers getting very caught up in the concepts and methods of the pattern language with little idea how to use it to create a great UI.

It feels to me that autodesk has a way of making things far more complicated than they need to be - always reinventing the wheel (take the autodesk "Steering Wheel" as a prime example of an interesting concept that might fit all the criteria of a pattern language, but is a mostly a disaster in practice). My impression is that a good dose of common sense with a twist of actual UI design talent would go a long way.

[cialis online]

oooh this is exciting! I am going to submit... :) Good luck to all the applicants, I can't wait to see who is chosen!

[cialis online]

oooh this is exciting! I am going to submit... :) Good luck to all the applicants, I can't wait to see who is chosen!