WPF UI Framework
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What Is WPF UI Framework?
Icons8 WPF UI Framework is an open source library of beautiful mockups for Windows developers and UI designers.
- Windows developers can create beautiful UI that grows in quality even without a dedicated designer
- UI designers can compose a new design from the pretty UI components and concentrate on high-level design
It exists in the form of Sketch and PSD mockups available as a free download.
How It Started
It started with an ugly user interface. A client bought our icons and incorporated them into his design. He proudly demonstrated the result, and it was...tragic.
We had to do something. We suppose that if our clients have an ugly interface, it's not only their problem but also ours. The Icons8 team and the customer should work together to create great software.
Trying to help, we invited a bunch of Windows developers (in reality, two) and interviewed them about the projects they participated in. We asked the following questions:
- Who is responsible for UI in your team?
- What is the process of creating a UI?
- Can you show how you work on the UI?
- Can you please show some of the software you've created?
The results of our interviews were:
- The lack of a graphic designer leads to an ugly UI
- Involving designers makes timing less predictable
The latter means it's harder to meet deadlines. Therefore, there are no designers on the team, in particular, when creating internal software for companies. This leads to an ugly UI.
Existing Solutions
Existing Telerik and similar platforms provided great functionality but were no help in terms of design. Although they have "themes", that usually means:
- Outdated design in Office 2003 style
- Toning the app in colors like grayish pink
Even Dribbble had few examples of beautiful UI created for Windows, with remarkable example by Eduardo Santos, created three years ago.
Unlike iOS, Android, and MacOS, Windows was ignored by the designers. It was time to act. We started to draw.
Plan
We've decided to move in a few steps.
- Create Sketch mockups — completed
- Transfer them to Photoshop (yes, we love Sketch more) — started
- Create the dummy WPF templates
- Add basic functionality
We'd like to keep it free and open source. At the moment, we've got our three designers contributing part-time and a freelance Windows developer helping us with consultations.
Support Us
Obviously, we don't get any direct money from it. We are not even going to limit our support to paid users. It will limit the feedback we get, and we would like to keep in touch with the community as much as possible, regardless if they pay us or not.