April’s Year of Code theme is all about a great User Interface, I decided to focus on refining the user experience of an existing application. My project involves a user interface revamp of the familiar built-in ToDo desktop app example provided with Xojo.
The goal wasn’t to add new features but to explore how applying thoughtful UI design principles can significantly enhance the look and feel of an application, making it more visually appealing and cohesive.
Here are some of the key aspects of the UI revamp:
- Design System Foundation: I started by establishing a basic design system. This involved defining core visual elements to ensure consistency across the entire application interface.
- Typography Definition: Specific styles were defined for how titles and standard text should appear. This helps create a clear visual hierarchy and improves readability.
- Consistent Color Palette: A specific set of colors (Light & Dark mode) was chosen and implemented throughout the project, contributing to a unified and more polished look.
- Refined ListBox Appearance: The standard DesktopListBox control received some visual tweaks to better align with the overall updated aesthetic.
The aim was to demonstrate how focusing on UI details can elevate even a simple example application.
Here’s a glimpse of the revamped ToDo app:
You can find the complete source code for this UI-enhanced ToDo app project on GitHub.
Stay tuned for more exciting projects as we continue our Year of Code 2025 journey!
Gabriel is a digital marketing enthusiast who loves coding with Xojo to create cool software tools for any platform. He is always eager to learn and share new ideas!
Year of Code Project
- Year of Code: Kickoff
- January Project: Desktop Apps | Forum Discussion
- February Project: Database Apps | Forum Discussion
- March Project: Web Apps | Forum Discussion
- April Project: User Interface | Forum Discussion
How to Play:
Each month we’ll announce a new theme and share an example project of our own. Share your projects to the Xojo Forum thread for that month via GitHub (all the links you need are posted above ↑ ). Learn how to use Xojo and GitHub.
The Prizes:
Monthly winners get $100 at the Xojo store. Every project submitted is another chance to win the grand prize. The grand prize is $250 cash plus a Xojo Pro license and a year of GraffitiSuite and will be announce in December. Learn more about the prizes.