User guide

• The file names of your images must have the same file names that the BlackBerry Theme Builder uses as default
file names. To see the names of the files for your theme type, you can navigate to the images folders (C:\Program
Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Theme Studio 6.0\samples\Themes\Images\BlackBerry6_360x480). For
example, if you update the background image for the application banner, you must save the file with the name
banner_application.png.
• The image files must be in the appropriate folders. For example, the banner_application.png file belongs in the
banner folder.
1. On the Edit menu, click Change Images.
2. In the Select a Directory of Images dialog box, click the folder where you store images for the theme.
3. Click OK.
Best practice: Creating effective designs
You should consider how images interact with one another in the UI so that they do not hinder how the BlackBerry®
device user navigates the UI and uses the device. On the BlackBerry device UI, images are often layered on top of
each other. For example, the Home screen icons overlay a background image and the application menus and dialog
boxes overlay the application backgrounds.
Consider the following guidelines:
• Limit the number of colors that appear on a screen. Too many colors on a screen can result in too much visual
stimulation for a user, or negatively affect how a user reads text or identifies icons. It can also hinder navigation.
• Use background images that are fairly uniform in color. Patterns should be subtle so that they do not overpower
the text on controls such as menus, buttons, or dialog boxes.
• Limit the use of bolder colors to the icon and text elements, and make sure that the background has a lower
color saturation. The background should not distract the users from the icons or text.
• Use complementing colors. A simple color palette that contains colors that complement each other enhances
the users experience reading and navigating the UI.
• Define borders for control elements such as dialog boxes or menus. Borders around control elements separate
them from the screen content that they overlay.
Creating background images for dynamically sized screen
elements
You might experience challenges when you design background images for dialog boxes, buttons, menus, and title
bars because of the following reasons:
• The background images are dynamic in size. Dialog boxes, buttons, and menus are scaled to fit the text that they
contain. If you do not know the size of the screen element, you cannot design background images to fit; images
must be scalable to accommodate any possible size.
• The background images overlay elements. You should separate dialog boxes, buttons, menus, and title bars from
the screen content that they overlay so that they stand out. Typically, most UIs have borders that separate
elements from the screen content that they overlay to create a three-dimensional layering effect.
User Guide
Best practice: Creating effective designs
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