NU-I Design Trends
One of the UI Design trends that have carried into 2021 include 3D Design and Illustration. Revolutionizing industries such as gaming, entertainment, architecture, and healthcare, this trend has become more of an essential tool than just aesthetically pleasing.
My journey this week led me to discover a quick, intuitive program that provides pretty impressive user control and project results. Spline is in beginning stages compared to well-known 3D design programs such as Cinema 4D, SketchUp, and various 3D CAD programs. After spending a few hours with the “Preview Release”, Spline definitely stands on its own as a useful tool.
Upon entering the program, there is a sense of relief from the interface following the layout of most designing programs. The library and list of components sits nicely on the left side of the screen, and the editing parameters snuggle on the right side of the screen. Quick tools such as Shape Selection, or the Type Tool rest on the top center of the interface ready for action.
From this setup, jumping into the basics became as smooth as working with 3D shapes in Photoshop. Understanding the X-Y-Z Axis, exploration with the shapes and positioning on the canvas was like being a kid in a candy store…
….Or like being an adult wanting coffee and donuts.
Continuing with my donut craving, I created different looks for an animated app icon by experimenting with shape parameters. Each shape comes with different adjustable parameters allowing for interesting custom looks. Once that became clear, I worked on one more quick project fit for today (Feb 14th) and my newfound love for Spline.
There are many phenomenal 3D designs, illustrations, and animations created by others on this very young program. From the inspiration, this is definitely the beginning of my Spline journey.
