Color Scheme Guidelines?

So it seems Microsoft has purposefully abandoned the whole notion of
consistent color schemes on the OS level. It seems that in Vista, color
schemes in apps (toolbars, status bars, backgrounds, etc) are purposefully
DIFFERENT colors between apps for a reason.

My question is: Have they documented this anywhere? Are there "guidelines"
for how to decide what color scheme to use. There must be some rhyme and
reason!??!

Here's what I've surmised so far:
- Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
- Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax & Scan etc.
- Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
- Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon" apps but
ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain light-blue *no matter
what.*
- Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.

Vista User Experience Guidelines:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
"CMoya" <> wrote in message
news:C0DAE03F-B7FE-44AE-A42C-...
> So it seems Microsoft has purposefully abandoned the whole notion of
> consistent color schemes on the OS level. It seems that in Vista, color
> schemes in apps (toolbars, status bars, backgrounds, etc) are purposefully
> DIFFERENT colors between apps for a reason.
>
> My question is: Have they documented this anywhere? Are there "guidelines"
> for how to decide what color scheme to use. There must be some rhyme and
> reason!??!
>
> Here's what I've surmised so far:
> - Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
> - Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax & Scan
> etc.
> - Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
> - Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
> Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon" apps
> but ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain light-blue *no
> matter what.*
> - Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.
>
>

"CMoya" <> wrote in
news:C0DAE03F-B7FE-44AE-A42C-:

>
> Here's what I've surmised so far:
> - Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
> - Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax &
> Scan etc. - Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
> - Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
> Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon"
> apps but ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain
> light-blue *no matter what.*
> - Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.

You can use the SystemColor enumeration - if you do, the colours will be
applied by the current theme of the operating system.

Unfortunately the Winforms controls provided by MS do not support all the
theming/color capabilities of some applications you see - if you want all a
fancy GUI you'll need a third party toolkit like Infragistics.

--
(Do not e-mail)

Have you read this doc before posting it? If not, why post it? Anyway, it
doesn't address what seems to be the new direction in disparate and
*non-system set* color schemes that are employed in Vista's built-in
Accessories not to mention Office 2007 (arguably Vista's flagship suite). If
you change your Vista "glass" color scheme to Red or Frost, the toolbars in
Windows Mail don't change. Neither in Photo Gallery or Media Player. Neither
does Office 2007's colors change. Moreso, if you change Office 2007's own
scheme to Black or Silver, not all the apps (OneNote, Publisher, etc)
respect the setting. In fact, those apps are ALWAYS light-blue no matter
what you set your Office OR Vista color scheme to.

So, that doc is useless I think. Anyone else know if this has been discussed
anywhere? Chan9 blogs, one of the design blogs? I don't know.

Here's what the Vista "Guidelines" say:
-"Whenever possible, choose colors by selecting the appropriate theme color
or system color. By doing so, you can always respect users' color
preference."
-"Don't hardcode theme-related values or system metrics, such as fonts,
*colors*, or sizes. Respect the user's settings by always obtaining font
typefaces, sizes, and *colors*, Windows display element sizes, and system
configuration settings from the Theme and GetSystemMetrics APIs."

Seems Vista's own accessories AND not to mention Office 2007 violate these
principles outright. It should be documented somewhere why this is so.

"Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Vista User Experience Guidelines:
> http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx
> --
> Andre
> Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
> My Vista Quickstart Guide:
> http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
> "CMoya" <> wrote in message
> news:C0DAE03F-B7FE-44AE-A42C-...
>> So it seems Microsoft has purposefully abandoned the whole notion of
>> consistent color schemes on the OS level. It seems that in Vista, color
>> schemes in apps (toolbars, status bars, backgrounds, etc) are
>> purposefully DIFFERENT colors between apps for a reason.
>>
>> My question is: Have they documented this anywhere? Are there
>> "guidelines" for how to decide what color scheme to use. There must be
>> some rhyme and reason!??!
>>
>> Here's what I've surmised so far:
>> - Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
>> - Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax & Scan
>> etc.
>> - Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
>> - Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
>> Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon" apps
>> but ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain light-blue *no
>> matter what.*
>> - Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.
>>
>>
>
>

Microsoft Messed up on vista big time... on longhorn they were trying out
various colors, and then they rushed out vista
and they have done a terrible job on the user interface.. its totally
horrible

I think its more like what comes out from someones rear end after eating
something very very bad


Yes Vista is CRAP!




"CMoya" <> wrote in message
news:4F8FBB04-C2E6-46FA-AA15-...
> Have you read this doc before posting it? If not, why post it? Anyway, it
> doesn't address what seems to be the new direction in disparate and
> *non-system set* color schemes that are employed in Vista's built-in
> Accessories not to mention Office 2007 (arguably Vista's flagship suite).
> If you change your Vista "glass" color scheme to Red or Frost, the
> toolbars in Windows Mail don't change. Neither in Photo Gallery or Media
> Player. Neither does Office 2007's colors change. Moreso, if you change
> Office 2007's own scheme to Black or Silver, not all the apps (OneNote,
> Publisher, etc) respect the setting. In fact, those apps are ALWAYS
> light-blue no matter what you set your Office OR Vista color scheme to.
>
> So, that doc is useless I think. Anyone else know if this has been
> discussed anywhere? Chan9 blogs, one of the design blogs? I don't know.
>
> Here's what the Vista "Guidelines" say:
> -"Whenever possible, choose colors by selecting the appropriate theme
> color or system color. By doing so, you can always respect users' color
> preference."
> -"Don't hardcode theme-related values or system metrics, such as fonts,
> *colors*, or sizes. Respect the user's settings by always obtaining font
> typefaces, sizes, and *colors*, Windows display element sizes, and system
> configuration settings from the Theme and GetSystemMetrics APIs."
>
> Seems Vista's own accessories AND not to mention Office 2007 violate these
> principles outright. It should be documented somewhere why this is so.
>
> "Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Vista User Experience Guidelines:
>> http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx
>> --
>> Andre
>> Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
>> My Vista Quickstart Guide:
>> http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
>> "CMoya" <> wrote in message
>> news:C0DAE03F-B7FE-44AE-A42C-...
>>> So it seems Microsoft has purposefully abandoned the whole notion of
>>> consistent color schemes on the OS level. It seems that in Vista, color
>>> schemes in apps (toolbars, status bars, backgrounds, etc) are
>>> purposefully DIFFERENT colors between apps for a reason.
>>>
>>> My question is: Have they documented this anywhere? Are there
>>> "guidelines" for how to decide what color scheme to use. There must be
>>> some rhyme and reason!??!
>>>
>>> Here's what I've surmised so far:
>>> - Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
>>> - Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax & Scan
>>> etc.
>>> - Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
>>> - Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
>>> Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon" apps
>>> but ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain light-blue *no
>>> matter what.*
>>> - Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>

vista user 43 wrote:
> Microsoft Messed up on vista big time...

Only in your opinion...

on longhorn they were trying out
> various colors, and then they rushed out vista
> and they have done a terrible job on the user interface..

Only in your opinion...

its totally
> horrible

Only in your opinion...
>
> I think its more like what comes out from someones rear end after eating
> something very very bad

Only in your opinion...
>
>
> Yes Vista is CRAP!

Only in your opinion.
Get a life capin' crunch.
Frank
>
>
>
>
> "CMoya" <> wrote in message
> news:4F8FBB04-C2E6-46FA-AA15-...
>
>>Have you read this doc before posting it? If not, why post it? Anyway, it
>>doesn't address what seems to be the new direction in disparate and
>>*non-system set* color schemes that are employed in Vista's built-in
>>Accessories not to mention Office 2007 (arguably Vista's flagship suite).
>>If you change your Vista "glass" color scheme to Red or Frost, the
>>toolbars in Windows Mail don't change. Neither in Photo Gallery or Media
>>Player. Neither does Office 2007's colors change. Moreso, if you change
>>Office 2007's own scheme to Black or Silver, not all the apps (OneNote,
>>Publisher, etc) respect the setting. In fact, those apps are ALWAYS
>>light-blue no matter what you set your Office OR Vista color scheme to.
>>
>>So, that doc is useless I think. Anyone else know if this has been
>>discussed anywhere? Chan9 blogs, one of the design blogs? I don't know.
>>
>>Here's what the Vista "Guidelines" say:
>>-"Whenever possible, choose colors by selecting the appropriate theme
>>color or system color. By doing so, you can always respect users' color
>>preference."
>>-"Don't hardcode theme-related values or system metrics, such as fonts,
>>*colors*, or sizes. Respect the user's settings by always obtaining font
>>typefaces, sizes, and *colors*, Windows display element sizes, and system
>>configuration settings from the Theme and GetSystemMetrics APIs."
>>
>>Seems Vista's own accessories AND not to mention Office 2007 violate these
>>principles outright. It should be documented somewhere why this is so.
>>
>>"Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]" <> wrote in message
>>news:...
>>
>>>Vista User Experience Guidelines:
>>>http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx
>>>--
>>>Andre
>>>Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
>>>My Vista Quickstart Guide:
>>>http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
>>>"CMoya" <> wrote in message
>>>news:C0DAE03F-B7FE-44AE-A42C-...
>>>
>>>>So it seems Microsoft has purposefully abandoned the whole notion of
>>>>consistent color schemes on the OS level. It seems that in Vista, color
>>>>schemes in apps (toolbars, status bars, backgrounds, etc) are
>>>>purposefully DIFFERENT colors between apps for a reason.
>>>>
>>>>My question is: Have they documented this anywhere? Are there
>>>>"guidelines" for how to decide what color scheme to use. There must be
>>>>some rhyme and reason!??!
>>>>
>>>>Here's what I've surmised so far:
>>>>- Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
>>>>- Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax & Scan
>>>>etc.
>>>>- Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
>>>>- Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
>>>>Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon" apps
>>>>but ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain light-blue *no
>>>>matter what.*
>>>>- Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>

Well, I love Vista. And I think the Aero glass interface is great. I'm
talking about the color schemes in the client area of programs themselves...
which is inconsistent even in Vista's built-in apps.

"vista user 43" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Microsoft Messed up on vista big time... on longhorn they were trying out
> various colors, and then they rushed out vista
> and they have done a terrible job on the user interface.. its totally
> horrible
>
> I think its more like what comes out from someones rear end after eating
> something very very bad
>
>
> Yes Vista is CRAP!
>
>
>
>
> "CMoya" <> wrote in message
> news:4F8FBB04-C2E6-46FA-AA15-...
>> Have you read this doc before posting it? If not, why post it? Anyway, it
>> doesn't address what seems to be the new direction in disparate and
>> *non-system set* color schemes that are employed in Vista's built-in
>> Accessories not to mention Office 2007 (arguably Vista's flagship suite).
>> If you change your Vista "glass" color scheme to Red or Frost, the
>> toolbars in Windows Mail don't change. Neither in Photo Gallery or Media
>> Player. Neither does Office 2007's colors change. Moreso, if you change
>> Office 2007's own scheme to Black or Silver, not all the apps (OneNote,
>> Publisher, etc) respect the setting. In fact, those apps are ALWAYS
>> light-blue no matter what you set your Office OR Vista color scheme to.
>>
>> So, that doc is useless I think. Anyone else know if this has been
>> discussed anywhere? Chan9 blogs, one of the design blogs? I don't know.
>>
>> Here's what the Vista "Guidelines" say:
>> -"Whenever possible, choose colors by selecting the appropriate theme
>> color or system color. By doing so, you can always respect users' color
>> preference."
>> -"Don't hardcode theme-related values or system metrics, such as fonts,
>> *colors*, or sizes. Respect the user's settings by always obtaining font
>> typefaces, sizes, and *colors*, Windows display element sizes, and system
>> configuration settings from the Theme and GetSystemMetrics APIs."
>>
>> Seems Vista's own accessories AND not to mention Office 2007 violate
>> these principles outright. It should be documented somewhere why this is
>> so.
>>
>> "Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> Vista User Experience Guidelines:
>>> http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx
>>> --
>>> Andre
>>> Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
>>> My Vista Quickstart Guide:
>>> http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
>>> "CMoya" <> wrote in message
>>> news:C0DAE03F-B7FE-44AE-A42C-...
>>>> So it seems Microsoft has purposefully abandoned the whole notion of
>>>> consistent color schemes on the OS level. It seems that in Vista, color
>>>> schemes in apps (toolbars, status bars, backgrounds, etc) are
>>>> purposefully DIFFERENT colors between apps for a reason.
>>>>
>>>> My question is: Have they documented this anywhere? Are there
>>>> "guidelines" for how to decide what color scheme to use. There must be
>>>> some rhyme and reason!??!
>>>>
>>>> Here's what I've surmised so far:
>>>> - Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
>>>> - Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax & Scan
>>>> etc.
>>>> - Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
>>>> - Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
>>>> Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon"
>>>> apps but ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain
>>>> light-blue *no matter what.*
>>>> - Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>

"Mark Lincoln" <> wrote in message
news:152ee4c0-e245-4644-8e3f-...
> If I understand correctly, some MS apps have not yet had their GUIs
> converted. Certainly, some of the Office 2001 apps. So all this may
> be less a problem with Vista's themes and more with applications not
> yet being with the program (pun not intended, but noted).
>
> Mark Lincoln
>

But that still doesn't explain why even Vista's built-in apps (say Windows
Mail vs Folder windows vs Photo Gallery) all use different toolbar colors.
Or why Office 2007 main apps (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) can be set
to Blue/Black/Silver but the rest of them (Publisher, OneNote, etc) can
*only* be blue in Vista.

In article <8FE802D2-6704-43A8-92F3->,
CMoya <> wrote:
>Well, I love Vista. And I think the Aero glass interface is great. I'm
>talking about the color schemes in the client area of programs themselves...
>which is inconsistent even in Vista's built-in apps.

Both Apple and Microsoft are some of the most persistent violators
of their own UI guidelines. Always has been -- google the "UI Hall of
Shame" for examples. I don't see this changing anytime soon, either.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates - personal webpage http://www.visi.com/~nathan/
# Programmer at Pandemic Studios -- http://www.pandemicstudios.com/
# NOT speaking for Pandemic Studios. "Care not what the neighbors
# think. What are the facts, and to how many decimal places?" -R.A. Heinlein

> Well, I love Vista. And I think the Aero glass interface is great.

has it ever occurred to you that you have very bad taste????



"CMoya" <> wrote in message
news:8FE802D2-6704-43A8-92F3-...
> Well, I love Vista. And I think the Aero glass interface is great. I'm
> talking about the color schemes in the client area of programs
> themselves... which is inconsistent even in Vista's built-in apps.
>
> "vista user 43" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Microsoft Messed up on vista big time... on longhorn they were trying out
>> various colors, and then they rushed out vista
>> and they have done a terrible job on the user interface.. its totally
>> horrible
>>
>> I think its more like what comes out from someones rear end after eating
>> something very very bad
>>
>>
>> Yes Vista is CRAP!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "CMoya" <> wrote in message
>> news:4F8FBB04-C2E6-46FA-AA15-...
>>> Have you read this doc before posting it? If not, why post it? Anyway,
>>> it doesn't address what seems to be the new direction in disparate and
>>> *non-system set* color schemes that are employed in Vista's built-in
>>> Accessories not to mention Office 2007 (arguably Vista's flagship
>>> suite). If you change your Vista "glass" color scheme to Red or Frost,
>>> the toolbars in Windows Mail don't change. Neither in Photo Gallery or
>>> Media Player. Neither does Office 2007's colors change. Moreso, if you
>>> change Office 2007's own scheme to Black or Silver, not all the apps
>>> (OneNote, Publisher, etc) respect the setting. In fact, those apps are
>>> ALWAYS light-blue no matter what you set your Office OR Vista color
>>> scheme to.
>>>
>>> So, that doc is useless I think. Anyone else know if this has been
>>> discussed anywhere? Chan9 blogs, one of the design blogs? I don't know.
>>>
>>> Here's what the Vista "Guidelines" say:
>>> -"Whenever possible, choose colors by selecting the appropriate theme
>>> color or system color. By doing so, you can always respect users' color
>>> preference."
>>> -"Don't hardcode theme-related values or system metrics, such as fonts,
>>> *colors*, or sizes. Respect the user's settings by always obtaining font
>>> typefaces, sizes, and *colors*, Windows display element sizes, and
>>> system configuration settings from the Theme and GetSystemMetrics APIs."
>>>
>>> Seems Vista's own accessories AND not to mention Office 2007 violate
>>> these principles outright. It should be documented somewhere why this is
>>> so.
>>>
>>> "Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]" <> wrote in message
>>> news:...
>>>> Vista User Experience Guidelines:
>>>> http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx
>>>> --
>>>> Andre
>>>> Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
>>>> My Vista Quickstart Guide:
>>>> http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
>>>> "CMoya" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:C0DAE03F-B7FE-44AE-A42C-...
>>>>> So it seems Microsoft has purposefully abandoned the whole notion of
>>>>> consistent color schemes on the OS level. It seems that in Vista,
>>>>> color schemes in apps (toolbars, status bars, backgrounds, etc) are
>>>>> purposefully DIFFERENT colors between apps for a reason.
>>>>>
>>>>> My question is: Have they documented this anywhere? Are there
>>>>> "guidelines" for how to decide what color scheme to use. There must be
>>>>> some rhyme and reason!??!
>>>>>
>>>>> Here's what I've surmised so far:
>>>>> - Turquoise = Generic system stuff like Explorer.
>>>>> - Dark Blue = Minor Accessories like Windows Mail, Calendar, Fax &
>>>>> Scan etc.
>>>>> - Black = Media stuff like Media Player and Photo Gallery.
>>>>> - Light Blue = Office/Productivity apps. Or is this just special to MS
>>>>> Office? Why in Office 2007 can you change the color of the "ribbon"
>>>>> apps but ALL other apps (like Publisher, OneNote, etc) remain
>>>>> light-blue *no matter what.*
>>>>> - Grey = All other legacy and/or programming like Visual Studio.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>