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Stop shading selected objects?
Just a thought, but I wonder if it would actually be better if Balsamiq didn't shade/tint objects when they are selected. The resize buttons and extra border already indicate that the object is selected, so shading isn't strictly necessary. The problem with shading is that, if you are trying to find a good background color for an object (like a light gray), you have to deselect it to see what it really looks like. Also, if you forget you selected something, it's easy to look at your mockup and wonder why some object is so dark.
One thing you might consider is to use a dashed border around objects that are selected. This would give selected objects a more unique appearance from objects that just have a regular border. Then, if multiple items are selected, you could put the dashed border around each object, and then a dashed border and resize buttons around the bounding box for the entire selected region.
Maybe it's just me, but I think if you give this a try and see what it looks like, you will find it more user friendly.
One thing you might consider is to use a dashed border around objects that are selected. This would give selected objects a more unique appearance from objects that just have a regular border. Then, if multiple items are selected, you could put the dashed border around each object, and then a dashed border and resize buttons around the bounding box for the entire selected region.
Maybe it's just me, but I think if you give this a try and see what it looks like, you will find it more user friendly.
I’m just thinking out loud
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Inappropriate?Hi Dan, this is quite a big change but we'll give it a try and see how it feels!
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Inappropriate?Hi Dan, I remembered why we shade objects. Take this for example:
it's clear that the button in the middle is not selected. If we stop shading what's selected you won't be able to tell them apart, unless we highlight them another way...2 Comments
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This is one of the best points
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Giacomo, that's what I was trying to explain in the second paragraph (last sentence). Here is an image to show what I'm talking about:
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Got it. I'll see what our new UX Guru in residence Mike thinks. It's still a pretty big change, I fear the backlash could be big. :)
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Inappropriate?Dan, you make a good point. Right now that gray selection background makes selections very obvious, but in the case where you're trying to discern the selected gray from a color change to another gray, it is difficult to impossible.
We definitely need some type of indicator of what's selected in an area where multiple objects appear. For reference, what Illustrator does is show anchors and highlights the outline of each selected object as well as the group. That way you could make a color change on the selected shapes and see the outcome without deselecting.
Perhaps we could get away with something subtle like persistently showing the anchors and outline of each selected object in the group. So to take the Illustrator reference, it might look like the image below.
We'll have to discuss this one a bit more internally. Something like the above is very subtle.1 Comment Add a comment
This is one of the best points
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Mike, I agree with you that the thin purple lines are a little subtle, but I think the basic idea is pretty sound. If you make the purple square handles a little larger, I think they will become a lot more noticeable. Perhaps the way MS PowerPoint does it is a better model.
(Note: You can ignore the green dots--they are for rotation.)
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