communication

   


User Interface Design (Euphonix)

  
 
 

"[David Delp's] outstanding skill
level as both a graphic artist and a GUI designer, and his exceptional
creativity and professionalism contributed enormously to the project."

-David Marsh
Software Development Lead, System 5-MC
Euphonix

 

 

 

The MC console. The touch screen interface we designed is there in the middle of it. It was the star of Euphonix's home page at the time of this posting. Click and see if it's still there.

 

  

Euphonix is a leading manufacturer of big fat audio mixing consoles. One of their newest inventions is the MC, named after TRON's arch nemisis the MCP. I love that. Fortunately, MC can also stand for Media (Application) Controller, well almost. Reminds me of the best acronym translation I've every heard. MACINTOSH = Most Applications Crash If Not The Operating System Hangs. Is that amazing? Cole Porter couldn't have done better. (Now if you were Cole Porter, wouldn't you be constantly patting yourself of the back?)

Using a hi-rez touch screen, the user (or more accurately, the super duper user) configures each of the many buttons on the console to best suit her work habits for each program she uses. Efficiency of use was the main criteria for usability.


This is a touch screen. You can touch it here, but it won't do any of the amazing things that the real screen does.

Once we identified the rock star technicians that work these machines, we focussed on designing fast paths to the most used features with plenty of shortcuts and flexibility. They don't want to be told there is only one way to do something. To get to the solutions quickly we used black and white wireframes of the screen layouts to test different user scenarios.

One thing that makes a project like this successful is an insider who champions the user experience. Euphonix had someone who was very involved with many of the detailed decisions and also knew how to make pragmatic decisions. It was perfect! We could focus on invention and problem solving.

  
 
   
 
   

Some of the visual design explorations.

 

  

   
 
 

 

 

 

Check out this little video we made to show the engineers how the UI should work.

  

The visual design also applies very well to upgrade legacy products and gives us a great visual vocabulary that continues to work for the products we are designing today.

  
 


Euphonix Desktop Icons

  
 
 
 

 

 

"All good feedback on the UI. How about [next time] a diamond studded touch screen? You know, bling!"

-Martin Kloiber
CEO
Euphonix

 

 

 


The Real MCP

 

  

Below you can see an early test illustration I made before I had much background on the project. I can't really remember what the instructions were. I've always liked the term endoplasmic reticulum, and I must have been listening to Ennio Morricone when I came up with "gringo."

  
 

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