I can't think of the last time my group used character sheets designed by a games company. They invariably have too much information on them - useful as character generation work sheets, but not to capture the feel of the game.
I passionately believe that for players the character sheet is the GUI. Sure, some players are happy with unix or DOS, but most of us like a pretty GUI that gives us the information we need and keeps all the complex stuff hidden away. For example, in game I don't usually need to know Rank bonus, Stat bonus, special bonus, item bonus, cultural bonus and racial bonus. I just need to know the bonus. So take the other stuff off the character sheet, as long as it's somewhere it can be accessed if you really need it.
A well designed character sheet will give only the essential game stats, and really help to capture the feel of the game. This is especially important in my group, as we change both GM and game system on a regular basis, so you can't assume that any or all of the players have even played a given game before.
It's one area where the industry really needs to up its game imho.Players who visual, creative thinking styles can really struggle with the data-heavy character sheets so beloved of RM and D&D.
