![]() ![]() Sizes and shapes, but in reality, even the round buttons were still contained within the rectangle that defined the space for Skin artists pushed the envelope by making it appear as though the controls were different However, this method did impose stringent restraints on the skin artist, as there were concrete This meant a Winamp user always knew where the play and stop buttons were no The play and stop buttons, for example, were always in the same place and wereĪlways the same size regardless of the skin used. Of the original controls remained the same. As mentioned earlier, Winamp merely applied a graphical image over the main application – all Winamp and its rudimentary form of changing the look of an application was just Nobody had ever seen or used software that was capable ofĬhanging its look in such a radical fashion. The Winamp skinned media player with the default skin (left) and two other skin variations (center and right)Īrguably, skinning made Winamp the ‘killer app’ of the time. Programmer and creator of Winamp sold the franchise to America Online (AOL) in 1999 for $100 million.įigure 1. As a testament to Winamp’s success (and therefore the success of skinning), Justin Frankel the 20 year old Winamp became a huge success and was, at that time, the de facto MP3 Graphic images such as family photos, sports teams, etc. Shortly after, developers joined in and created programs to skin the player with user-supplied Theĭefault skin ( Figure 1) was enough to pique everybody’s interest and soon graphic artists began churning out It sported chrome buttons, digital readouts, sliders with changing backgrounds, buttons with LED indicators, and more. In fact, it looked completely different from any other computer application, regardless of the operating system. This application raised more than a few eyebrows as it looked, by default, completely different than any other WindowsĪpplication. Winamp’s premise was fairly simple – have the main program retain the same buttons,Ĭontrols, and layout but allow the end user to overlay a graphic image on top of the application, thus putting a new skin on In 1997, a Windows media player named Winamp introduced the world to skinning, The concept of themes is relatively new to the computer industry, even though a software company pioneered them almost aĭecade ago. Along the way, discover other industries’ use of skins and the growing demand for This article looks at themes and skins the origins of today's "look and feel" and journeys through theirĪpplication in the software industry. The user experience with their specialized graphics and effects. ![]() WhileĪt first glance an operating system’s theme may appear to be just another pretty face, themes actually customize and enrich Ontemporary operating systems utilize themes to define the look and feel of the operating system and its applications. Look and Feel Journey - From Skins to Themes ![]()
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