Creating nice GUI

Question

I'm seeking graphic advice on how to have your interface look better.

So far I've been focusing on usability but its starting to look like a Jakob Nielsen kind of interface.

I'm searching for tutorials on how to pimp up my windows forms application or at least general guidelines on how to do so

edit :

thank you for the info. I was looking for something more oriented toward pure graphic considerations instead of usability documentation.

This question refered me to this site which is very nice. It is the kind of page which says "hey, to look nice your application should have rounded corners". Very useful, lots of different gotcha I'll look for

Answer 1

37signals has a blog with numerous articles. Though they are focused on web development, the same principles of simplicity and usability could be applied to WinForms.

http://www.37signals.com/svn/

Answer 2

Everyone is different, but i think it's always safe to go clean and simple, and not to over do it.
Try not to throw loads of different things together even if individually they look great!
Have a look at 101 Places To Get Design Inspiration for inspiration :)

Answer 3

A good book: User Interface Design for Programmers by Joel Spolsky. Somewhat old (2001) but still relevant.

Answer 4

Don't Make Me Think is a classic and must-read:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789723107/ref=nosim/joelonsoftware/

From Amazon.com:

Product Description

People won't use your web site if they can't find their way around it. Whether you call it usability, ease-of-use, or just good design, companies staking their fortunes and their futures on their Web sites are starting to recognize that it's a bottom-line issue. In Don't Make Me Think, usability expert Steve Krug distills his years of experience and observation into clear, practical--and often amusing--common sense advice for the people in the trenches (the designers, programmers, writers, editors, and Webmasters), the people who tell them what to do (project managers, business planners, and marketing people), and even the people who sign the checks.

Krug's clearly explained, easily absorbed principles will help you sleep better at night knowing that all the hard work going into your site is producing something that people will actually want to use.

Answer 5

If you need help in the layout of your GUI applications to make them more effective, this site is a great resource: http://designingwebinterfaces.com/designing-web-interfaces-12-screen-patterns