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Manual controls. There's a lot to like about the infinite reconfigurability of touchscreens and on-screen controls, but there was also a lot to like about being

Manual controls. There's a lot to like about the infinite reconfigurability of touchscreens and on-screen controls, but there was also a lot to like about being able to find controls without looking and getting positive tactile feedback when you pressed or turned something. This is especially true in cars, but it shows up in other areas (e.g. kitchen equipment) as well. Related: human-oriented design in general. Every interface nowadays seems to be defined by the designer's whims and pure aesthetics, not what would actually be functional for users.

dexwiz 5y ago
I think this is in part due to how quickly software is developed. Since reqs > mvp can be hours, days, or at most weeks, there is a lot pressure on designers for quick turn around. My friend is an Industrial Designer, and works on Faucets, probably one of the last interfaces replaceable by a touch screen. Their design pipeline is years long. They build multiple prototypes and mock them with real humans, and get the space to actually watch people use them. I have very rarely seen a UX designer get more space to experiment than a InVision mockup. So of course what they design is disconnected.
- eatYourFood 5y ago
  >> Since reqs > mvp can be hours, days, or at most weeks "at most weeks". I've seen MVP's take far longer than that and still be considered minimal. Minimal is contextual.
gary_0 5y ago
I recently moved and was wearing noise-canceling headphones while using the flat black minimalist buttons on my shiny stove and microwave and realized without hearing the beep it was hard to tell if I'd hit the button sensor. I had to wait and see how the minimalist alphanumeric display updated to know if I'd pressed the right little bit of text. People with disabilities or deafness would have a hell of a time. > not what would actually be functional for users Functional is ugly and ugly doesn't sell. This has been a problem with product design for decades: durability, usability, safety is all ignored in favor of whatever visual flair maximizes impulse buying. How the product performs when the owner actually uses it is irrelevant. Even worse dynamics are at play when it comes to advertising-supported software services. We've gone from a race to the bottom to a race to hell.

dexwiz 5y ago

I think this is in part due to how quickly software is developed. Since reqs > mvp can be hours, days, or at most weeks, there is a lot pressure on designers for quick turn around. My friend is an Industrial Designer, and works on Faucets, probably one of the last interfaces replaceable by a touch screen. Their design pipeline is years long. They build multiple prototypes and mock them with real humans, and get the space to actually watch people use them. I have very rarely seen a UX designer get more space to experiment than a InVision mockup. So of course what they design is disconnected.

eatYourFood 5y ago
>> Since reqs > mvp can be hours, days, or at most weeks "at most weeks". I've seen MVP's take far longer than that and still be considered minimal. Minimal is contextual.

gary_0 5y ago

I recently moved and was wearing noise-canceling headphones while using the flat black minimalist buttons on my shiny stove and microwave and realized without hearing the beep it was hard to tell if I'd hit the button sensor. I had to wait and see how the minimalist alphanumeric display updated to know if I'd pressed the right little bit of text. People with disabilities or deafness would have a hell of a time. > not what would actually be functional for users Functional is ugly and ugly doesn't sell. This has been a problem with product design for decades: durability, usability, safety is all ignored in favor of whatever visual flair maximizes impulse buying. How the product performs when the owner actually uses it is irrelevant. Even worse dynamics are at play when it comes to advertising-supported software services. We've gone from a race to the bottom to a race to hell.