I have the highest regard for these terse, but information-dense displays that enable humans to quickly grasp all information they need to do their jobs, and nothing more. This is also something avionics provide - a modern cockpit displays are a work of art in layering needed information for what is happening at the time, both the dense PFD and the much specific that communicate aircraft status.
UI designers who were trained in the currently-popular paradigm would be at a complete loss to design such things. "Swipe left from the home screen, tap the nothingness on the screen to reveal the controls overlay, find the ••• in one corner of the screen, tap "More" in the 3-item menu, and then tap 'Bond Quote' in the modal dialog that takes over the entire screen." Keyboard shortcuts? "Hmm... interesting idea. Never thought of that. We might add those in a V2."
We already see this in car interfaces. Clearly designed by people that don't drive, or at the very least have not tested it themselves while driving.
I got a rental the other day and while driving could not find the clock! I had to hit TWO BUTTONS on the infotainment touchscreen panel to get back to "home" and see the gd time. I was driving on curvy roads in Yosemite too. Truly abhorrent.
Also bad: When a software update moves essential elements around.
For the last three years I've looked at a particular location in my car for the clock. Then a software update moved it not just to a different location on the screen, but to an entirely different screen.
Three years of muscle memory is probably going to take another three years to un-do.
(For those of you who don't understand why a clock is an essential part of driving, it's so I know if I can park in a 9a-4p zone, or if it's the time of day when I can use the reversible lanes in my direction of travel, or if I can use the lanes that are HOV sometimes and HOT at other times, or a hundred other things.)
The same software update moved the wiper locking controls (for car washes) from a button on the left steering column stalk to a menu option four levels deep on the center screen.
That's definitely surprising in this age. Could you change the air conditioner ui to celsius? But changing to kph is not something I expect by default in _every_ car. I do expect a visible clock in every car though.
The corollary of which is that no function the driver might sensibly need while underway should be presented or accessed through a touch screen.
So physical levers and buttons. With some tactile feedback, such as raised lips or centre bumps or distinct shapes, so without looking the user knows which one their finger is on (third from left in the Aircon group). Displays can be present multiple items (don't need physical dials) but changing that display when driving comes back to buttons.
Wow. Except for what appears to be a stateless gearshift (Not that that isn’t standard-issue these days), A+. Look at all those physical switches and knobs, whose location I would learn to use with zero looking away from the road needed in a few weeks.
The law in the UK appears to be that is is perfectly OK to use a touch screen so long as you "stay in full control" and aren't holding the device:
My car has user interface elements that you would want to use while driving (e.g. to cancel the navigation guidance) that only become visible if you hold your hand in front of the screen....
My car display has NO WAY to cancel navigation guidance from the GPS screen. You can pause guidance, but when you turn the car on again, it tries to resume.
You have to go back from the guidance screen to cancel. So, I never use it.
> But it’s not like the designers are unaware of more information dense alternatives.
Strong disagree. I have been in UX reviews for products like Bloomberg terminals as the intended user. I specifically asked for information density and the designer looked at me like I was from the moon. Their counter offer was a permanent floating chatbot that covered the small amount of information still on the page. No joke. Information density is something those web designers genuinely could not comprehend.
“ You can remove the drawn-in borders just by adding a little visual space, and use subtle color differences to separate rows if needed” ———> “Let’s make it 10 rows per screen (and somehow still with low-legibility font choices and low-readability text design)! Make the design breathe, you know, white space!” ———> Me, having an aneurysm
I described it as being lost in an ocean of white pixels. Then they added padding and broke hyperlinks. I know it was incompetence but it started to feel malicious.
what is going on with ceiling fans: <a href="https://mcmansionhell.com/post/829127919552151552/what-is-going-on-with-ceiling-fans" rel="nofollow">https://mcmansionhell.com/post/829127919552151552/what-is-go...
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For the last three years I've looked at a particular location in my car for the clock. Then a software update moved it not just to a different location on the screen, but to an entirely different screen.
Three years of muscle memory is probably going to take another three years to un-do.
(For those of you who don't understand why a clock is an essential part of driving, it's so I know if I can park in a 9a-4p zone, or if it's the time of day when I can use the reversible lanes in my direction of travel, or if I can use the lanes that are HOV sometimes and HOT at other times, or a hundred other things.)
The same software update moved the wiper locking controls (for car washes) from a button on the left steering column stalk to a menu option four levels deep on the center screen.
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I don't think the driver is supposed to use the touch screen while the vehicle is in motion
thombat · · focus · HN ↗
So physical levers and buttons. With some tactile feedback, such as raised lips or centre bumps or distinct shapes, so without looking the user knows which one their finger is on (third from left in the Aircon group). Displays can be present multiple items (don't need physical dials) but changing that display when driving comes back to buttons.
ishtanbul · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g63743843/2023-ineos-grenadier-fieldmaster-test-interior-gallery/" rel="nofollow">https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g63743843/2023-ineos-gre...
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<a href="https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law" rel="nofollow">https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
NB My car has loads of features that I would expect to use while driving that can only be accessed through the touch screen.
pjc50 · · focus · HN ↗
(increasingly everyone including the safety wonks are realizing why this is a bad idea)
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You have to go back from the guidance screen to cancel. So, I never use it.
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Don’t get me wrong, I get the complaint. But it’s not like the designers are unaware of more information dense alternatives.
mulmen · · focus · HN ↗
Strong disagree. I have been in UX reviews for products like Bloomberg terminals as the intended user. I specifically asked for information density and the designer looked at me like I was from the moon. Their counter offer was a permanent floating chatbot that covered the small amount of information still on the page. No joke. Information density is something those web designers genuinely could not comprehend.
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what is going on with ceiling fans: <a href="https://mcmansionhell.com/post/829127919552151552/what-is-going-on-with-ceiling-fans" rel="nofollow">https://mcmansionhell.com/post/829127919552151552/what-is-go...
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49917536">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49917536