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Fantasy UI

pushing-pixels.org

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Re: Fantasy UI

#71

Post by IkmoIkmo »

krm01 wrote: post #10

As a UI/UX agency that focusses on B2B SaaS, I’ve always found Fantasy UIs fascinating. It’s the complete opposite of the simple & clean interfaces clients ask us to design. I’ve spent some time thinking about why these Fantasy UIs are so fascinating despite the fact they seem not very user friendly. My conclusion was that fantasy Interfaces are very much like the early web. Lots of moving parts (dancing banana gifs)…

Absolutely, it makes me think of this game where you have to diffuse a bomb (keep talking and nobody dies) I'm sure many here are familiar with. One diffuses the bomb based on directions from another who is reading a diffusing manual. Imagine that game on Fantasy UI, I'm sure everyone would die haha!

Re: Fantasy UI

#72

Post by eternalban »

krm01 wrote: post #10

As a UI/UX agency that focusses on B2B SaaS, I’ve always found Fantasy UIs fascinating. It’s the complete opposite of the simple & clean interfaces clients ask us to design. I’ve spent some time thinking about why these Fantasy UIs are so fascinating despite the fact they seem not very user friendly. My conclusion was that fantasy Interfaces are very much like the early web. Lots of moving parts (dancing banana gifs)…

> My conclusion was that fantasy Interfaces are very much like the early web. Lots of moving parts

These designs all have quite a bit of 'hair'. There are some basic functional elements and then, like a salad, it is garnished with all those numeric registers and shifting rulers, and linear elements.

Since you are a designer, I'm sure you've had those moments with a wip composition that has all the visual metadata still visible and possibly found it more 'visually exciting' than the final cleaned-up product. Same thing happens with architectural design drawings. The 'compact/minimal intensity' of a conceptual sketch is, imo, partly due to the fact that relationships between elements are more explicit in the early stages and the composition feels more 'dynamic'. Same design in final form will simply not evoke the same emotional response and is rather 'static'. (my take on this.)

Re: Fantasy UI

#73

Post by vsareto »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #46

The single biggest common denominator between so many fantasy UIs, is transparent (HUD-style) interfaces. I was just watching the latest episode of The Expanse , last night, and saw them all using these transparent PDA/phones. Ever try using a transparent UI? It's absolutely maddening. Looks cool on the screen, but is pretty much unusable IRL.

It's in the carousel on that page, but here's an interview with Timothy Peel, who did those for The Expanse and also Mr. Robot. They talk about it a bit:

https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2016/01/21/a-window-into-anot...

I think they'd rather bring you into the world by showing the UI and interactions while also showing the actors. With a opaque device, we know they're using it, but we don't get to see any detail about it. And a camera angle behind the actor that shows the UI can be awkward. So I think it's really just a compromise to be able to show the UIs, interaction, and the actors from the front at the same time.

I wouldn't ever use one for privacy, and I think the only realistic way transparent devices would be useful is if they tint the glass so it's maybe 50% opaque.

Re: Fantasy UI

#74

Post by KozmoNau7 »

nottorp wrote: post #66
depressedpanda wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, very much this. I don't have much to add except that I wonder why something similar hasn't been done already? I mean, it's an UI that works fine in RTS games, so why wouldn't it work for application windows?

It would be pretty maddening to keep losing the application you're working on because of the infinite scroll. In RTS games you have keyboard shortcuts to return to your unit groups, bases etc to mitigate that, but there you're supposed to jump between points of interest while for general use you tend to keep the same point of interest for a long time...

I was thinking a sort of bookmark or point of interest system, a mix between a task switcher and how Google Maps does it.

Both groups and individual pieces of content could be supported similarly.

Re: Fantasy UI

#75

Post by treeman79 »

pc86 wrote: post #49
_trampeltier wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, most todays UI is not really great. On websites you often can't navigate just with the keyboard and shortcuts does not work at all. An a really terrible new UI thing are these on / off sliders. So often is not clear where the slider is, because it's not clear if the slider or the background is colored. Also a lot of new software comes with shortcuts, but you would need 3 hands to push all buttons for it. Also for…

Saying "I can't navigate a website just using my keyboard" is sort of like saying "I can't drive my car just using the steering." Well, of course you can't. You're not supposed to be able to, unless you have some sort of assistance hardware/software loaded that articulates/emulates the missing control(s).

In high school, I came into computer class only to find the mouse was broken.

Whatever, I used keyboard commands for the entire class period; was fine.

Next day they handed me a fine for breaking the mouse. Turns out they didn’t think it possible for someone to use a computer without a mouse.

Took a legally threatening letter to get them to back off.

Re: Fantasy UI

#76

Post by omni »

DonHopkins wrote: post #62
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #46

The single biggest common denominator between so many fantasy UIs, is transparent (HUD-style) interfaces. I was just watching the latest episode of The Expanse , last night, and saw them all using these transparent PDA/phones. Ever try using a transparent UI? It's absolutely maddening. Looks cool on the screen, but is pretty much unusable IRL.

I came here to say that too! Exactly what I was thinking while watching The Expanse (which is a great series), and so many other shows that pander to the cliché of pointlessly transparent phones. Goodbye privacy! Why would you ever want your phone display to be harder for YOU to see, and easier for EVERYONE ELSE to see?

It's a cliché not because it's a vision of the future, but because it's a good filmmaking technique that lets the audience easily see what's going on when you have characters interacting with tiny pocket screens. Without transparent screens, you'd need to do something like what the recent Sherlock series did and have giant text bubbles pop up on the screen or something, which would not fit with the aesthetic of a show like The Expanse.

Re: Fantasy UI

#77

Post by tel »

coldtea wrote: post #61
krm01 wrote: post #10

As a UI/UX agency that focusses on B2B SaaS, I’ve always found Fantasy UIs fascinating. It’s the complete opposite of the simple & clean interfaces clients ask us to design. I’ve spent some time thinking about why these Fantasy UIs are so fascinating despite the fact they seem not very user friendly. My conclusion was that fantasy Interfaces are very much like the early web. Lots of moving parts (dancing banana gifs)…

> We lost the Art of interface building and turned it into a complete science. In the realm of VST/AU plugins (virtual music instruments and effects), the art of interface building is alive and kicking, and the different interfaces add (a) to the excitement, (b) to be able to differentiate quickly among dozens (or 100s) of different plugins you use, (c) helps test/create novel interaction ideas... Here are example VS…

I was thinking VSTs as well. It's kind of funny, I truly dislike the UI of most VSTs I use. Cluttered, hard to understand, many hidden features and menus, and often rampant unhelpful skeuomorphism.

But also there are a few which are remarkable: the 3 synths from Madrona labs, the prosaic and convenient UI from Valhalla's plugins, up to the complex patchbay interface of something like VCV Rack, for instance.

VSTs balance a number of interesting perspectives in their UI. They are facing a very challenging domain (audio synthesis, analysis, manipulation in creative and often real-time interaction), have a complex user base (ranging from pros who really would prefer to be using their actual rack effects, to audiophiles who are pretending they've got a garage of classic synths, to modern electronic musicians who are digital natives), and have essentially zero strong UI non-skeumorphic conventions (knobs, sliders, presets, A/B switches, modules).

It's totally the wild west of UI.

Re: Fantasy UI

#80

Post by chris_st »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #46

The single biggest common denominator between so many fantasy UIs, is transparent (HUD-style) interfaces. I was just watching the latest episode of The Expanse , last night, and saw them all using these transparent PDA/phones. Ever try using a transparent UI? It's absolutely maddening. Looks cool on the screen, but is pretty much unusable IRL.

I remember in early(ish) Linux, the terminal programs had a setting to be at least partly transparent, so your desktop background (and other windows? I forget) could show through.

Wound up constraining what desktops you could choose, and how you had to set up your terminal colors. And since I prefer dark text on a light background, it didn't work for me from the beginning.

I imagine those programs still have those settings, but I don't see that behavior in screen-shots of programs any more.

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