This is a lovely example of great design. Beautiful, too. I'm sad to see it didn't catch on.
On a related note, I would like to own an EV -- but a touchscreen operated car is out of the question. Where did all those competent designers go and why didn't they design an electric car?
The analysis of real-life interfaces is quite interesting, and as a novice in the field I had never reflected much on the by-feature / by-operation / by-technology / by-use case distinction.
Only tangentially related, but just yesterday I learned of Lego's defunct "Modulex" brand, and the serious and apparently widely popular Lego-brick-based project management display boards from the '60s to the '90s.
The small size and comforting pastel colors seemed especially inviting to me.
It makes me yearn for more tactile and actually pleasant-to-work-with computer UIs.
If you're on Android, there's an accessibility option in Firefox and Chrome that allows you to always zoom on any page, even if the website normally prevents it. On Firefox it's under Settings -> Accessibility -> Zoom on all websites.
Hey, I'm the author of this site!
You're on Android I think, based on the other comments here? I only have an iPhone to test, but I can pinch+expand the site on my phone no problem. Was not intentional to have blocked it! Sorry, I'll see if I can work out why.
That makes some sense actually if iOS ignores it. Whenever I come across the behaviour I wonder why, but if it's just a copy/paste magic meta tag which goes unnoticed by most browsers then I can see how that could proliferate.
In my car (BMW from 2012), the engine does not shut off when you press the start/stop button when you're driving. It only shuts off the engine when you press it AND you're stationary. This seems like a totally obvious interlock to me, it puzzles me that Ford didn't think of this and as a solution moved the button instead.
Does that button really start and stop the engine? In other cars I've seen, the start/stop button (with similar iconography) toggles the start/stop system, which shuts off the engine when the car is stationary to avoid pollution.
They even put an accelerometer in it, so it can show a working horizon!
The console bricks were so special back then. When you got one in a set it was like finding a rare specimen. Bricks look all alike, but those were different!
Even if they were talking about interaction design (sometimes called IX) specifically, rather than experience design, the interaction is in handling, moving, and combining them. They don’t need to have a dynamic electronic interaction to be interactive. I’m not sure a toy with absolutely no interaction would still be a toy.
Somebody posted some beautiful and inspired Lego renderings of their red science pack factory, created in Bricklink Studio 2.0, to the Factorio Facebook group.
A thread at the time https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24035866 and a little one a bit later https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29502811 both with some author comments
Thanks! Macroexpanded:
The UX of Lego Interface Panels (2020) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29502811 - Dec 2021 (10 comments)
The UX of Lego Interface Panels - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24035866 - Aug 2020 (38 comments)
The link to the Audi examples is dead, but you can find an archived version at https://web.archive.org/web/20211126012727/https://deeptread...
This is a lovely example of great design. Beautiful, too. I'm sad to see it didn't catch on.
On a related note, I would like to own an EV -- but a touchscreen operated car is out of the question. Where did all those competent designers go and why didn't they design an electric car?
The analysis of real-life interfaces is quite interesting, and as a novice in the field I had never reflected much on the by-feature / by-operation / by-technology / by-use case distinction.
Hah! Awesome post. I have to say my favorite as a kid was the white radar screen with the "38" on it. Maybe I should have gone into UX?
Only tangentially related, but just yesterday I learned of Lego's defunct "Modulex" brand, and the serious and apparently widely popular Lego-brick-based project management display boards from the '60s to the '90s.
The small size and comforting pastel colors seemed especially inviting to me.
It makes me yearn for more tactile and actually pleasant-to-work-with computer UIs.
I wonder if there’s a 3D printed version somewhere online
This kind of post makes me tingle with joy
It’s like a Christmas ornament. Unnecessary in utility, and yet so fun to enjoy
I'd like it if I could zoom on my phone on a site about ui/ux with small pictures.
If you're on Android, there's an accessibility option in Firefox and Chrome that allows you to always zoom on any page, even if the website normally prevents it. On Firefox it's under Settings -> Accessibility -> Zoom on all websites.
That's better, thanks
Hey, I'm the author of this site! You're on Android I think, based on the other comments here? I only have an iPhone to test, but I can pinch+expand the site on my phone no problem. Was not intentional to have blocked it! Sorry, I'll see if I can work out why.
It's this in the <head>
Remove the maximum-scale property.Thanks! Will try shortly. I guess iOS/Safari just ignores this property then.
Firefox Android, yep.
That makes some sense actually if iOS ignores it. Whenever I come across the behaviour I wonder why, but if it's just a copy/paste magic meta tag which goes unnoticed by most browsers then I can see how that could proliferate.
Ok, this should be fixed now, let me know if you still can't zoom!
Works for me!
Works, thanks
My Samsung phone on Chrome lets me.
Wow, that Lincoln MKC was unfortunate.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/05/recalled-li...
Seems like they moved the power button to the top of the column.
In my car (BMW from 2012), the engine does not shut off when you press the start/stop button when you're driving. It only shuts off the engine when you press it AND you're stationary. This seems like a totally obvious interlock to me, it puzzles me that Ford didn't think of this and as a solution moved the button instead.
Does that button really start and stop the engine? In other cars I've seen, the start/stop button (with similar iconography) toggles the start/stop system, which shuts off the engine when the car is stationary to avoid pollution.
I wish my phone was more like a bop-it.
You're only a tube of glue and a bad decision away
The best interface bricks are these ones that actually work:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0pUV_3qeHog
They even put an accelerometer in it, so it can show a working horizon!
The console bricks were so special back then. When you got one in a set it was like finding a rare specimen. Bricks look all alike, but those were different!
Previously on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32531887
That's the UI. There's no actual interaction with the screens.
Even if they were talking about interaction design (sometimes called IX) specifically, rather than experience design, the interaction is in handling, moving, and combining them. They don’t need to have a dynamic electronic interaction to be interactive. I’m not sure a toy with absolutely no interaction would still be a toy.
Yes, but in this specific case the focus is on the design elements labeled onto the lego blocks.
UX stands for user experience, not for interaction?
[delayed]
Somebody posted some beautiful and inspired Lego renderings of their red science pack factory, created in Bricklink Studio 2.0, to the Factorio Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/factoriogroup/posts/24121149...