User Interface Design and Implementation

Graphical setup utility

I made these sketches in 1997 while designing a graphical configuration utility. The project requirements called for packing a large number of functions into a small space. Some of the challenging aspects of this project were helping the user understand an almost overwhelming number of technical terms and preventing the user from selecting incompatible options.

First Config Panel

This was my first shot at a panel for configuring one or more monitors. Some of the items which could be configured included type of PC graphics card, screen resolution, monitor refresh rate, and the geometry of a multiple monitor configuration.

Second Config Panel

This sketch was a later iteration of the same monitor configuration panel that was pretty close to what I implemented.

Pryzm text editor

Between 1994 and 1997 I directed a small startup company in order to develop and market a programmer's text editor. The name of the application was "pryzm" and was implemented under the UNIX Motif and CDE frameworks. The effort was a commercial flop but I did learn some lessons about application design...



Navigation Window

The pryzm navigation window. This is the user's "home base" from which they can navigate to all open documents, either directly or by search operations. There only needs to be one of these windows, even if there are multiple documents open.


Document Window

A pryzm document window, which usually represents a file editing session. This view shows the multi-selection highlight feature.