Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#1

Post by henrikeh » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 8:38 AM UTC

The recent discussion on best books on UI/UX[1] got me thinking: What are some good examples of user interface design for professional applications: CAD tools, audio/video editors etc. Tools which help people do a job.

Especially interested in tooling optimized for productivity and "power users" (however those are).

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18662992

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#2

Post by InGodsName » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 11:30 AM UTC

Stripe is an often cited example of good UI.

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#3

Post by cronjobma » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 12:19 PM UTC

I’d say the guys at fairpixels.pro do a pretty good job designing solid UI for B2B startups

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#4

Post by kkarakk » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 1:16 PM UTC

https://uimovement.com/ and https://mobile-patterns.com/ are sites i as a mobile dev find interesting

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#5

Post by simon_acca » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 1:32 PM UTC

matlab, bloomberg terminal, airbus cockpit, the vim keybindings

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#6

Post by knaik94 » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 1:40 PM UTC

Blender and any other programs that truly embody customizable. A power user adapts a UI to their own needs instead of adapting to the program, in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#7

Post by carloscarnero » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 1:43 PM UTC

Maya, Avid Media Composer, Pro Tools

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#8

Post by kakarot » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 1:54 PM UTC

knaik94 wrote: post #6

Blender and any other programs that truly embody customizable. A power user adapts a UI to their own needs instead of adapting to the program, in my opinion.

Blender and Foobar2000 are my favorite UIs for any end-user program. The potential for customization is endless.

Does anyone else know of programs of this caliber, with a strong emphasis on extendable UI/UX?

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#9

Post by gitgud » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 2:09 PM UTC

Well as a CAD/IDE/VIDEO EDITOR power user I liked the following UI concepts:

I LIKE:

- Keyboard shortcuts!

- Hide/Add menu items

- Save a copy of your settings configuration

- Scripting system in a well documented language

- Clean icon-based tabbed menu at top, like MS Word.

- Large work-space, for editing/viewing

- File browser tree on left

- Definitely a plugin system/store

I HATE:

- I hate to see thousands of menu items...

- I hate to see a lot of space dedicated to small menus that don't get used much/ever. If I don't need it, then hide it.

- When there's no way to create a shortcut

Re: Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

#10

Post by kibibu » Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 2:16 PM UTC

carloscarnero wrote: post #7

Maya, Avid Media Composer, Pro Tools

Oof yeah, Maya. That's a learning curve.