Now you can continue reading. Seldom anybody learned much, when they stopped reading at the point they disagreed with.
EDIT - Yeah. I have a certain fondness for Kai’s. But I had time to get used to them. It’s one UI in a thousand where I have time to get bedded in with it’s quirks. For all the rest - be boring.
So, it's not exactly form over function (besides thought into form is necessary for function - you can have a real world lever that is e.g. thin and crooked and it will still function as a lever, but a good lever also has good form -- e.g. be designed to have a good grip).
It's "design ideology and novelty for some manager's sake" over form and function.
I have to agree with this sentiment. I loved KPT, but that was more for the "adventure" aspect. I actually had difficulty using a lot of functions (don't ask me to remember which ones).
It's frustrating, designing innovative UI that also follows convention. It's a joy, when it works.
I have this iOS widget that I wrote[0]. It's really, really cool. Works a charm, and is easy to implement.
But I keep on not using it in my projects. It's too "in your face." I think that UI needs to get the hell out of the way, and just let the user do what they want to do.
I have a couple of more, more conventional widgets, that I use all the time[1], [2].
KPT was "in your face," like no other UI I have ever experienced.
[0] https://riftvalleysoftware.com/work/open-source-projects/#RV...
[1] https://riftvalleysoftware.com/work/open-source-projects/#RV...
[2] https://riftvalleysoftware.com/work/open-source-projects/#RV...
Every piece of software for artists / designers is not intuitive. It’s sliders, knobs, modals and panels. Programmers making design software is Not A Good Idea.
The way forward is something like ProCreate, so just the software and the pen, and maybe more auxiliary devices (a color palet for instance) to become more analog again.
When we use a mark-making tool like a pen, all that's happening is that we select the area being pressed to be darkened. Technique with those tools takes years to develop, and their full use comes in tandem with additional tools like rulers, prospekt, and stencils.
So when we add knobs and sliders and modes we are simply trying to describe those kinds of intents within a precise abstraction instead of a collection of simpler tools. It does go overboard in that nobody's going to adjust every knob presented.
Maybe some kind of virtual art studio in VR would be helpful for people who want a more physically intuitive experience with some extras like undo and saving copies, but even then you're still going to have to learn a thing or two about the tool to use it, like any tool.
You mean [1] ? I dont disagree with your point but I dont understand how pro create is any different to any other design software on iPad.
The Apple Pencil, and the iPad Pro (esp. the latest of each), is awesome. They did a really good job on that.
I don't use ProCreate, but that's mostly because I'm not really that kind of graphic designer.
I remember looking at "paintbox" tools for video effects, in the 1970s. We've come a long, long way, and real artists have some really nice tools at their disposal.
Because parent mention Apps were the problem? Or is it more like Apps designed for Apple Pencil will be the future? Not mouse and keyboard?
I also feel that an ‘Ink-Board’ should replace the trackpad as we know it. Basically an E-Ink tablet that serves as a stylus, pointer and control input. So that we’re not limited to discrete inputs (as opposed to analogue inputs).
And you can ofcourse create beautiful works of art with it. But in terms of usage, it’s all the same.
Now if you are lucky you got yourself a Cintiq or maybe Surface Studio edition, giving you a hands on experience.
When it comes interfacing though, I feel we haven’t really explored much. Someone here mentioned KAI power tools, which was quite intuitive and fun to use.
I just wish for more types of computing/interfacing and use of screen and see some creativity in this field.
An Ink-board does sounds interesting though!
Form should come after function. But often times form actually contributes to function. (In the sense of making the "right" thing intuitive to do)
Function is IMO always paramount.
The above is the kind of sentence that you'll see in almost any fashion or arts magazine.
Pretty fluffy stuff. Not really the kind of thing we're used to, in the engineering community.
That said, I firmly believe that there's always a place for good graphic and interaction design, in technology.
I don't feel that it's a problem. Some companies will stick to "the classics," while some will go overboard with the "chrome"[0], so to speak.
[0] https://www.mprove.de/script/99/kai/2Software.html