The Graphical User Interface of nsync was one of team14's major focuses and a lot of effort was put into creating a beautiful application for a satisfying user experience.. Careful thought aand consideration is placed into each and every part of the User Interface to create a consistent and enjoyable user experience.

"Simple is the new awesome."

Users want software to work and, work quickly. The majority of users and our target audience hate to navigate around complicated user interfaces, cconfigure complex settings and be asked a ton of questions before they actually get down to the task they set out to do. Hence simplicity is the new awesome! Here's how we ensured this:

• Drag and drop
• Just 2 boxes make up the main user interface
• 3 simple steps to synchronization
• Helper notifications and labels when absolutely necessary
• Tooltips all around help to provide information while minimizing clutter

"Details matter."

The final UI that is presented to users has undergone numerous rounds of internal discussions and prototypes during its implementation phase. Most importantly, we ourselves use nsync and feel at home and comfortable with it. The best way to produce a wonderful user experience is to pay attention to the details and polish those rough edges through constant, daily use. Innovative ideas are great, but practicality and attention to details are the major considerations for us in our design.

"Pretty creates emotional attachment"

We believe in giving the user a positive experience to connect the user with our software through a beautiful, memorable interface. Software that looks good, feels good.

"A powerful core to allow for future expansion"

We took on the challenge to embrace the powerful Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) in our software which gives us the flexibility of customizing UI controls and layouts. This gave us total control on how we want the user to utilise our software. This also gives us huge flexibility when it comes to future development of the interface.

"Consistency is never dull"

Consistency in the UI enables users to build an accurate mental model of the way nsync works. This leads to a gentler learning curve. In fact, nsync is so simple that a tutorial or user manual is unnecessary and any user can start using the interface immediately.

• The use of drag and drop across the Homepage and Exclude Window
• The thematic skin that is applied across every little component in nsync
• Consistent use of colours and text

"A tinge of colour"

Whenever we aggregate various types of content (e.g. Visual Preview or Exclude Window), we use colour coding to help users to quickly distinguish between different types of entries (in lists) making it clearer and more readable. The choice of text over graphical icons also makes it professional and immediately distinguishable to every user. Colour codes used are also suitable for the colour blind user.

Responsiveness & Visual Feedback

When interfaces slow down and 'hang', even momentarily, the user is subjected to unnecessary fear. Our solution to this is to ensure that proper visual feedback is provided to the user. To this end, we use progress bars, percentage labels and animations to give the user an indication of how long an operation will take and that the software is still functioning (while doing an intensive operation).

"Less is more"

A minimalistic design is the result of our dislike of overloading users with excessive information. Many users appreciate being presented with only what is absolutely necessary. In nsync, we abstract details, provide the key essentials to the user and try to package this information intuitively.

"Choice when choice isn't detrimental"

We like to provide the user with choices when we feel it doesn't cause us to deviate from our simple and minimalistic approach. In our Visual Preview, we offer the user choices to filter out which folder they want to see changes from, giving them multiple ways to view data (that could be quite lengthy).