What’s in a WPF name? Why don’t you tell us!

UPDATE: If you would like to submit an idea for us please put it into the comments by Friday November 13th

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be an artist. Being able to look at a blank canvas and just go to work creating something visually appealing. At school I really looked forward to Art classes … Not because I was any good at it, just because I shared a table with my best friend and it was the only lesson on the school timetable where we were allowed to sit together. It’ll come as no surprise to some of you that I was a talkative pupil, and most of my detention slips were written as a result of chattering when I should have been working. Well hey, Headmaster. Look at me now. I was employed to chatter and be nice to people!  

As I have often said to our DevExpress designers, my creative talents are on a par with a puppy running riot over a sheet of paper with paint on its paws. In essence, I have a whopping “zero” creative talent.

To be a developer I imagine you need to have the ability to tune into your creative side. I’d guess that web designers certainly have a tough time on their hands as you actively have to try to create an intuitive interface and pre-empt how users will find their way around your site, creating themes and color concepts that are both pleasing to the eye but also functional and familiar to users. It’s a pretty tall order if you really want to make a great job of your design.

Luckily for our WPF developers, the DevExpress WPF team has eased the burden of color schemes design with the new Color Scheme Customization Dialog. The trouble is we think Color Scheme Customization Dialog  is a pretty rubbish name for it.

Julian and I had a “name off” a few weeks back. We battled against each other’s linguistic talents and threw around some (really bad) ideas. We tried “Tint Tool”, “Color Spinner”, “Color Shader”, “Color Compass”, “Hue Hatcher”, “Theme Painter”, “Theme Artist”, … but none of them seemed to adequately sum up what this feature is all about.

Eventually, after realising that naming a feature is actually harder than it first appears, we decided that we’d ask for some professional advice. 

And that’s where you come in! We want you to name this new feature.

It’s simple: if we like your name, we will use it. And we’ll give you a prize to thank you. *

Check out Julian’s posts on the new control here and also here. Get a feel for what it is for and what it could be for as it develops, and then post your suggestions for its name in the comments below this post. The winner will receive a copy of CodeRush with Refactor! Pro with a 12 month subscription (to get your hands on all the latest updates over the next year) as well as a DevExpress goodie bag with t-shirt, hat, 4GB USB pen drive and an iTunes voucher.

*Caveat: While we are really chuffed that you want to submit your name suggestions to us, DevExpress will reserve the right to select a name for this funky new feature that may not submitted as a suggestion below. We can’t really have a commercial feature named the WPF Funk-tastic Funk-a-tron Wheel just because we really like you guys … we do need to be a bit serious about it. But don’t let that stop you submitting your ideas to us!

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