Silo : a new GUI
Silo is a simple yet powerful 3D modeling tool developed by Nevercenter. https://nevercenter.com/silo/
Silo's Early UI
One of the features that drew me in was its customizable user interface. With the default GUI being minimalistic and somewhat uninviting, I saw an opportunity to create something more engaging. Given the starting point, it felt like a challenge worth taking on!
Clearly, there’s room for improvement.
The new UI Goals
In designing this interface, I had two main goals: first, to ease the learning curve by making as many commands as possible visible through clear visual icons, helping users quickly understand the software’s potential; and second, to promote proficiency by displaying keyboard shortcuts wherever possible.
Designing Icons
Designing the icons posed a really interesting challenge, especially in terms of semantics and appearance. I revised the icons twice, and while improvements were made, there is still room for refinement.
Adaptive Palette icons
The icon design adjusts according to the selection mode—vertex, edge, face, or object.
While the commands and shortcuts stay consistent where applicable, the icons update to reflect the specific outcome of the action.
Layout Organization
I organized the interface into six main areas:
1. Selection: choose selection mode (vertex, edge, face, object).
2. Construction: Noun-verb commands that modify topology.
3. Transform: Manipulators to transform geometry.
4. Tools: Verb-noun commands for creating or modifying geometry.
5. Multi-Palette: Contains selection tools and other commands.
6. Settings: Tool options and other settings.
Palettes Overview
Tools Palette: Commands that don’t fit elsewhere ;)
Mirror Palette: All commands related to mirroring.
Selection Palette: Assists with selection tasks.
The interface in action:
Here’s a screenshot of the app running the final UI. Although I wasn’t able to implement adaptive icons due to technical limitations of the underlying engine, the result was still a significant improvement, making the App much more productive and user-friendly in production.
