A Graphical User Interface (GUI for short) allows users to interact with the computer hardware in a user friendly way.
Overthe years a range of GUI’s have been developed for different operatingsystems such as OS/2, Macintosh, Windowsamiga, Linux, Symbian OS, andmore.
We’ll be taking a look at the evolution of the interface designs of the major operating systems since the 80’s.
Ishould mention that this article showcases only the significantadvances in GUI design (not operating system advances) and also not allof the graphical user interfaces and operating systems existing today.
The first GUI was developed by researchers at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in the ’70s. This research opened a whole new era of computer graphic innovations.
The first personal computer which used a modern graphical user interface was the Xerox Alto, developed in 1973. This was not a commercial product and was intended mainly for research at universities.
Source: toastytech.com
Thiswas the first system that was referred to as a fully integrated desktopcomputer including applications and a GUI. It was known as “The Xerox Star”, later renamed “ViewPoint” and later again renamed to “GlobalView”.
Xerox 8010 Star, Source: toastytech.com
Alsoreferred to as Lisa OS, which in this case is short for Office System.It was developed by Apple with the intention of being a documentprocessing workstation.
Unfortunately this workstation didn’t last, it was killed by Apple’s Macintosh operating system that was more affordable.
There were upgrades to Lisa OS, Lisa OS 2 in 1983 and Lisa OS 7/7 3.1 in 1984, that upgraded the system itself, but not the graphical user interface.
Apple Lisa OS 1, Source: GUIdebook
Apple Lisa OS 1, Source: GUIdebook
VisiOn was the first desktop GUI developed for the IBM PC. This system wastargeted towards big corporations and came with a high price tag. TheGUI made use of a mouse, it had a built-in installer and help system andit didn’t use icons.
VisiCoprt Visi On, Source: toastytech.com
VisiCoprt Visi On, Source: toastytech.com
System1.0 was the first operating system GUI developed for the Macintosh. Ithad several features of a modern operating system, being windows basedwith icons. The windows could be moved around with the mouse and filesand folders could be copied by dragging and dropping onto the targetlocation.
Apple Mac System 1.0, Source: toastytech.com
Whenfirst released, Amiga was ahead of its time. The GUI included featuressuch as color graphics (four colors: black, white, blue, orange),preemptive multitasking, stereo sound and multi-state icons (selectedand unselected).
Amiga Workbench 1.0, Source: GUIdebook
Amiga Workbench 1.0, Source: GUIdebook
Inthis year Microsoft finally caught up with the whole graphical userinterface craze and released Windows 1.0, its first GUI based operatingsystem (although no one would dare to refer to it as one). The systemfeatured 32×32 pixel icons and color graphics. The most interestingfeature (which later was omitted) was the icon of the animated analogclock.
Microsoft Windows 1.01, Source: makowski-berlin.de
Microsoft Windows 1.01, Source: makowski-berlin.de
GEM(Graphical Environment Manager) was a windowing style GUI created byDigital Research, Inc. (DRI). It was initially created for use with theCP/M operating system on the Intel 8088 and Motorola 68000microprocessors and was later developed to run on DOS as well. Mostpeople will remember GEM as the GUI for the Atari ST computers. It wasalso used on a series Amstrad’s IBM compatible computers. It was thecore for Ventura Publisher and a few other DOS programs. The GUI wasalso ported to other computers but did not gain popularity on them.
Source: Wikipedia
The64-bit IRIX operating system was created for UNIX. An interestingfeature of this GUI is the support for vector icons. This feature wasbuilt into the GUI long before Mac OS X even existed.
Silicon Graphics IRIX 3.0, Source: osnews.com
TheGEOS (Graphic Environment Operating System) operating system wasdeveloped by Berkeley Softworks (later GeoWorks). It was originallydesigned for the Commodore 64 and included a graphical word processor,called geoWrite and a paint program called geoPaint.
Source: Wikipedia
Inthis version, the actual management of the windows had significantlyimproved. The windows could be overlapped, resized, maximized andminimized.
Microsoft Windows 2.03, Source: guidebookgallery.org
Microsoft Windows 2.03, Source: guidebookgallery.org
OS/2was originally co-developed by IBM and Microsoft, but in 1991 the twocompanies split up, with Microsoft incorporating the technology in itsown Windows GUI and IBM developing OS/2 further. The GUI used in OS/2was called “Presentation Manager”. This version of the GUI onlysupported monochrome, fixed icons.
Microsoft-IBM OS/2 1.1, Source: pages.prodigy.net
Microsoft-IBM OS/2 1.1, Source: pages.prodigy.net
SteveJobs came up with the idea to create the perfect research computer foruniversities and research labs. This idea later evolved into a startupcalled NeXT Computer Inc.
The first NeXT computer was released in1988, however significant advances were made in 1989 with the release ofthe NeXTSTEP 1.0 GUI, which later evolved into OPENSTEP.
TheGUI’s icons were bigger (48×48) and it introduced more colors. The GUIwas initially monochrome, but version 1.0 started supporting colormonitors too. This screenshot gives you have a peek into what wouldbecome the modern GUIs.
NeXTSTEP 1.0, Source: kernelthread.com
Thenext minor version upgrade of the GUI showed slight improvements inmany areas. The icons looked nicer and the windows were smoother.
OS/2 1.2, Source pages.prodigy.net
By this version, Microsoft had realized the real potential in GUI’s and started to significantly improve them.
Theoperating system itself supported standard and 386 enhanced modes,which made use of higher memory capacity than 640 KB and hard diskspace, resulting in the ability to use higher screen resolutions andbetter graphics, such as Super VGA 800×600 and 1024×768.
Also, Microsoft hired Susan Kare to design the Windows 3.0 icons and to add a unified style to the GUI.
Microsoft Windows 3.0, Source: toastytech.com
Microsoft Windows 3.0, Source: toastytech.com
Manyimprovements were made to this version of the GUI. The color schemechanged and a 3D look was introduced. The desktop could be dividedvertically into screens of different resolutions and color depths, whichnowadays seems a little odd. The default resolution of Workbench was640×256, but the hardware supported larger resolutions too.
Commodore Amiga Workbench 2.04, Source: guidebookgallery.org
Mac OS version 7.0 was the first Mac OS GUI which supported colors. Subtle shades of grey, blue and yellow were added to icons.
Apple Mac OS System 7.0, Source: guidebookgallery.org
Apple Mac OS System 7.0, Source: guidebookgallery.org
Thisversion of Windows included TrueType fonts which were pre-installed.This effectively made Windows a functional desktop publishing platformfor the first time.
Previously, it was only possible to achievesuch functionality in Windows 3.0 using the Adobe Type Manager (ATM)font system from Adobe. This version also contained a color scheme namedHotdog Stand, which contained bright hues of red, yellow and black.
This color scheme was designed to help people with some degree of color blindness see text/graphics on the screen easier.
Source: Wikipedia
Thiswas the first GUI that was subjected to international acceptance,usability and accessibility testing. The entire GUI was developed usingobject-oriented design. Every file and folder was an object which couldbe associated with other files, folders and applications. It alsosupported drag and drop functionality and templates.
IBM OS/2 2.0, Source: toastytech.com
IBM OS/2 2.0, Source: toastytech.com
Theuser interface was completely re-designed since version 3.x. This wasthe first Windows version where a small close button was added to eachwindow.
The design team gave states (enabled, disabled, selected, checked, etc.) to icons and other graphics. The famous Start button appeared for the first time.
This was a huge step forward for Microsoft regarding the operating system itself and the unified GUI.
Microsoft Windows 95, Source: guidebookgallery.org
Microsoft Windows 95, Source: guidebookgallery.org
IBM released OS/2 Warp 4 which brought a significant facelift to the workspace.
Iconswere placed on the desktop, where custom files and folders could alsobe created. The shredder appeared which was similar to Windows’ RecycleBin or Mac OS’s Trash, except it deleted the file or folder instantlyand didn’t store any additional copies for later retrieval.
IBM OS/2 Warp 4, Source: toastytech.com
IBM OS/2 Warp 4, Source: toastytech.com
256color icons were the default in this version of the GUI. Mac OS 8 wasone of the early adopters of isometric style icons, also calledpseudo-3D icons. The platinum grey theme used here became a trademarkfor future versions of the GUI.
Apple Mac OS 8, Source: guidebookgallery.org
Theicon styles were almost the same as in Windows 95, but the whole GUIcould use more than 256 colors for rendering. Windows Explorer changedalmost completely and the “Active Desktop” appeared for the first time.
Microsoft Windows 98, Source: toastytech.com
Thisis how the KDE team described the project upon releasing version 1.0:“KDE is a network transparent, contemporary desktop environment for UNIXworkstations. KDE seeks to fill the need for an easy to use desktop forUnix workstations, similar to the desktop environments found under theMacOS or Window95/NT. A completely free and open computing platformavailable to anyone free of charge including its source code for anyoneto modify.”
Source: Wikipedia
TheBeOS operating system was developed for personal computers. It wasoriginally written by Be In in 1991 to run on BeBox hardware. It waslater further developed to take advantage of newer technologies andhardware such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing modular I/Obandwidth, pervasive multithreading, preemptive multitasking and acustom 64-bit journaling file system known as BFS. The BeOS GUI wasdeveloped on the principles of clarity and a clean, uncluttered design.
Source: Wikipedia
GNOME desktop was mainly developed for Red Hat Linux, later it was developed for other Linux distributors as well.
Red Hat Linux GNOME 1.0.39, Source: visionfutur.com
Inearly 2000 Apple announced their new Aqua interface and in 2001 thecompany released it with their brand new operating system called Mac OSX.
The default 32 x 32 and 48 x 48 icons were changed to big 128 x 128 anti-aliased and semi-transparent icons.
Lotsof criticism followed after the release of this GUI. Apparently userswere not quite ready for such a big change, but soon enough they adoptedthe new style and today this GUI represents the basis of all Mac OS Xoperating systems.
Apple Mac OS X 10.1 Source: guidebookgallery.org
AsMicrosoft tends to change their GUI completely with every majoroperating system release, Windows XP was no exception. The GUI itself isskinnable, users could change the whole look and feel of theinterface. The icons were 48 x 48 in size by default, rendered inmillions of colors.
Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Source: guidebookgallery.org
Sinceversion 1.0, the K Desktop Environment improved significantly. Theypolished all the graphics and icons and unified the whole userexperience.
KDE 3.0.1, Source: netbsd.org
Thiswas Microsoft’s response to their competition. They also included quitea lot of 3D and animation. Since Windows 98, Microsoft has always triedto improve the desktop. With Windows Vista they released widgets and asomewhat improved replacement of the Active Desktop.
Microsoft Windows Vista, Source: technology.berkeley.edu
Withtheir 6th generation, Mac OS X system Apple, once again improved theuser interface. The basic GUI is still the Aqua with its candy scrollbars and platinum grey, blue colors. The new GUI features a more 3Dlook, with the 3D dock and lots more animation and interactivity.
Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Source: skattertech.com
GNOMEput a lot of effort into creating the themes and artwork into v2.2.4 astheir aim is “to make your computer look good”. They ran a competitionto collect some of the most intruiging desktop backgrounds that theircontributors have produced for use in v2.24.
Source: gnome.org
Version4 of K Desktop Environment produced many new improvements to the GUIsuch as animated, smooth, efficient window management and support fordesktop widgets. The icons size are easily adjustable and almost everydesign element is much easier to configure. Some of the most noticeablechanges include new icons, themes and sounds, which are provided by theOxygen Project. These icons are more photorealistic. It is definitely abig improvement to the earlier versions of KDE. It can now also be runon Windows and Mac OS X platforms.
Source: Wikipedia
Huge thanks to Guidebook for the continuous work on GUI design. http://www.guidebookgallery.org/
Also, big thanks to Nathan Toasty’s graphical user interface gallery. http://toastytech.com/guis/index.html
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