The VS2010 skin has a slight 3D effect which looks more like the traditional older style, where the VS2013 Blue is completely flat and looks more modern. They look good, are not too flashy, and they are very similar to the look of most other Windows controls so that users have some familiarity. The ones I like to use are VS2010 and VS2013 Blue. There are many skins available with the DevExpress WinForms controls. Below I describe how I used these controls effectively in the applications I built. Learning the best way to use the controls can be difficult, especially with all of the different properties available. In addition to these simple controls I used the DevExpress GridControl, LookUpEdit control (which is a multi-column combo box), multi-column TreeList control, Dockable Windows, and SpreadsheetControl. Anything beyond very simple and I recommend using a 3rd party control suite. These free controls are still what I use for applicaitons with very simple UIs. These are all available, although lacking in features, in the free set of controls in the namespace. I had a need for traditional controls like text boxes, check boxes, combo boxes, push buttons, date edit controls, numeric edit controls, and menus and toolbars. The code was developed using the Visual Studio 2015 Community edition in C# and Windows Forms and the DevExpress WinForms controls version 15.2.4. The project also includes some code to enhance the behavior of the controls where I found they didn't work exactly the way I wanted them to. The code consists mostly of Setup functions for most of the types of controls mentioned. This article describles my experiences and tips in using many of the DevExpress controls to create an effective UI.