Core77
e
- Topics
- Features
- Awards
- Careers
-
Firms
- Firms
- Search Firms;
- Firm Projects
- Forums
-
More...
- About Us
- Contact Us
- Advertise
- About
- Terms of Use
Core77 is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
Novel User Interface Design: Special Projects' Experimental "Magic UX" System
A completely different way of using your smartphone
By Rain Noe - November 13, 2018
London-based product design firm Special Projects has developed an experimental phone UI that's simultaneously forward- and backward-looking. I mean that figuratively, not literally. The designers focused on the non-intuitive nature of switching between apps, and came up with this Magic UX alternative:
On the one hand it's undeniably clever. On the other hand, technology has reached the point where I can no longer tell if we're moving forwards or backwards.
-
o1Favorite
-
Q3Comment
-
&
Rain Noe
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
Hiring Now See all industrial design jobs
-
Industrial Design InternIrvine, CaliforniaWestern DigitalApr 02 -
Industrial Designer (Mid to Senior Level)Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSTELMar 12 -
Industrial DesignerPawtucket, Rhode IslandFred & FriendsMar 10 -
Senior Industrial DesignerFort Mill, South CarolinaHoneywellMar 06 -
3D Designer (Temp to Hire)Columbus, Ohio | Onsite or Remote PossibleFITCHMar 05
-
K1:1 | with Michael DiTulloA New Core77 video podcast series. Fresh interviews weekly. Subscribe on Youtube.
-
Most Popular
-
How to Prevent Your Glasses From Fogging Up When Wearing a Mask
-
People Cooped Up at Home are Making Chair Models Using Household Items #IsolationChair
-
UC Davis Study Finds That Loud Talkers, Regardless of Language, Spread More Airborne Germs
-
Kitchen Cabinet Door Hinge Systems That Swing Upwards in Fancy Ways
-
-
Hot On Coroflot
-
Design Jobs
Aaron Street
Petru Buba
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
Novel User Interface Design: Special Projects' Experimental "Magic UX" System
We don't need a new way of switching between apps. We need to move away from the software-centered paradigm of interfaces. Read the book "Tog on Interface" (published in 1992) in which the author inverts this paradigm and the document is at the top of the hierarchy, not the software. Apps should operate directly on objects in the document. Imagine you are working on a proposal, which contains complex text, spreadsheets, photos, CAD drawings, etc. Wouldn't it be more natural to edit those objects directly in the proposal, rather than have to switch to Excel or Autocad or Photoshop? Some software like OneNote can partially do this for simple objects. But we will never get there as long as engineers are designing software interfaces.
Great solution that inspired me. Thanks guys! I wanna see more works like this one.
Like most people to whom this idea has occurred, I managed to think of several reasons why it's not very good before I even got out of the shower, let alone made a self-congratulatory video failing to demonstrate it actually working.