UI designers. They can’t leave off at using a product. They always have to tinker … .
Take Eduardo Santos. The Portuguese UI designer relies on FreeNAS, an open-source software network-attached storage (NAS) system. He found himself wanting a centralized dashboard where he could more quickly gather general data from his server, and do so in a more intuitive fashion. Though he’s always busy - currently working on a collaboration and publishing platform, Joomla Templates (such as Keirin, right), and more - he couldn’t fight the need to tinker.
With Spear (below), Eduardo explored a different path to configuring and managing a NAS. His goal was to provide users with a centralized overview of the main sections of the NAS, enabling them to locate malfunctions and places where things aren’t configured as expected.
To arrive at an interface such as this one created for Spear, Santos uses pencils, pens, grid notebooks, ViewFlux, and Photoshop.
Eduardo explains: “System Temperatures, UPS Status, RAID Configurations, Cloud Sync and Alerts are some of the features that can be seen in the concept. All these modules can be rearranged and displayed in multiple configurations to form a modular grid that can fit a huge variety of use cases.
“As an example, someone may prefer to have a module for DNLA management or other plug-ins displayed in the top instead of having System Temperature graphics. Or a Cloud Sync module showcasing backup status and the latest uploaded files. The possibilities are incredible. Making sure the UI was flexible enough to fit multiple usage scenarios was a crucial requirement I set during the design stage”
In terms of aesthetics, Eduardo chose a minimal, typographic, card-based layout. “It proved to be the most elegant and clutter-free style I could use in order to provide a very clean and modern feel,” he said.
We encourage you to discuss Eduardo’s work on Spear. Head over to the shot and talk there. Thanks!
Find Eduardo at Dribbble and on Twitter.
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