general ugliness

[balanced]

I just have to say it loud..

I have had some great moments and gigs with Live and some really miserable moments too with all the bugs, usually with anything called x.0.something but nowadays mostly with the thing called 8.1.1. But still, I could not have been able to do all the gigs and develop my identity as a performing artist in this way without this software. So it has had a big influence on pretty much everything I have been working on from the version 1.5 on.

But why on earth does it still have to be so freaking ugly? I mean this is more like a marriage to me as I am actually teaching people to use the software now and it would be hard for me to get out of the loop of updating/teaching/working/updating etc. I can take all the bugs and problems with every new version and blame myself for getting into this relationship at the first place but could you at least do something for the looks? It still kinda looks more like a windows 95 file manager to me and browsing a site which offers "skins" for Live does not make me feel any better..

http://sonictransfer.com/ableton-live-skins/

Norton Commander, anyone?

I hope you all can have a little sympathy and not to take this comment too seriously. Just a thought from a long time user. But seriously, a little nicer look would also make it sound a lot better for many people

[leedsquietman]

The GUI takes a little getting used to (I came from the eye candy world of virtual knobs and sliders and shading effects in Cubase etc), but apart from not having floating plugin windows, I really like the functionality of Live's GUI. There are skins available, but they mostly just change the colours.

I have to ask that if it such a big deal to you, why would you continue using it and TEACHING it ? If the GUI bothered me that much, I would move onto something which suited my workflow better ...

[H20nly]

Personally, I kind of like the simplistic lines/curves. Live is somewhat unique in this sense. Besides, I'd rather have samples in memory than glossy buttons.

I believe there is a pink skin. Would that help?

[balanced]

I have to ask that if it such a big deal to you, why would you continue using it and TEACHING it ? If the GUI bothered me that much, I would move onto something which suited my workflow better ...

not such a BIG deal. as i stated using live has affected my work during many years and productions and i am generally happy for that. the gui is just something that i have noticed that has gotten barely any development through these years. i use Live solely because of the functionality and the sounds i can create with it and teach it for the same reasons. so you see the visual thing is just something i have to cope with i think the workflow and eyecandy are not synonymes, i like the Live workflow.

[balanced]

thanks for the pink skin tip

[H20nly]

just having some fun...

I like sharing the pink skin tip

[Hidden Driveways]

I hear ya, but I still love Live's dead boring file browser look. I just want to concentrate on creativity, not be forced to constantly look at some GUI desinger's "artistry." Programs like Logic just look goofy and distracting to me.

Sometimes I'm a little embarrased by the look of Live, like when I travel to record someone or do some job and it looks like I'm recording into an Excel spreadsheet, but you gotta love it too.

[balanced]

that spreadsheet metaphor is pretty appropriate i think..

i did buy liquid mix a few days ago and do like the ability to choose between all the compressor emulations without the fancy plugin interfaces. so all the judgement is based on sound. after all i did the liquid mix blind test twice and both times liked the emulations a little better than the originals.. oh well, it´s all about the programming i guess. but seriously, have you tried to look at the same gray desktop wallpaper for seven years?

[emef]

live's gui was like a breath of fresh air when i first got it (coming from cubase)

[mihai]

ableton live gui ftw. i'm also the guy that said "oh ****..." in an unpleasant fashion to 3d desktop environments.

[mikemc]

i'm surprised at the ultimate subject of this thread-- i had half considered that i might see a picture of myself upon opening it, but certainly not a discussion about the lack of aesthetic appeal of the Live UI.

In my opinion it embodies the parsimonious elegance of form-following-function that allows almost instantaneous intuitive use.

[H20nly]

^ and it has a one hand clap

[dancing Ray]

but seriously, have you tried to look at the same gray desktop wallpaper for seven years?

well, mine is blue...

[Pitch Black]

On the subject of GUIs. Case in point, Arturia:

Every company who puts the image of a rotating fan in their interface to make it more realistic needs to see a doctor.

[oblique strategies]

I have always thought that Live was an exceptionally good looking application. This was a factor that got me to purchase Live back at version 1.

Form follows function... beautifully.