Story about building a nicer User Interface: Motion UI

By | August 15, 2017

Once upon a time group of people that worked together on multiple applications with complex User Interfaces were having a lunch.

As usual, someone came up with an idea. And a dialog started:
— Why can’t we make our UI software less boring and more high tech in the same way as recent (and not so recent) futuristic movies show it. Like Iron man or like Avengers. Or at the very least as in computer games.

— But who would want that visual excitement and fancy visual effects, we just want our software to work fast! — a skeptical voice from the group pointed out… But this being the age of Apple, Tesla, Starbucks and Sci-Fi movies, this crowd didn’t understand the skepticism.

— But to use an app with a game-like UI you need powerful computer, otherwise it will just lag! — came another sceptical voice.

— Wait, — someone said, — Aren’t our users mostly long time gamers who already appreciate nice futuristic motion design in both games and movies? And don’t they have fast computers?

— Yeah, — everyone nodded, — That’s right. They are the people who play Mass Effect or Deus Ex on the highest quality machines. And those who watched the Avengers and Star Wars.

— And very possibly they like bright things like futuristic computer cases or RGB peripherals and perhaps even bright curvy designer furniture for gamers.

Someone from the Marketing angle thought: “Awesome! In this age when many users have grown up enjoying the gaming world, this could bring us a bit more attention and strengthen our advantages!”

— So why don’t we design them some UIs to make them feel that the future has finally arrived? Or even at home in the past with the games or movies they loved and played, — same person asked.

And so a new idea was born to use motion design to create a User Interface for real world applications. The group worked fiercely brainstorming to determine what everyone would like to see in this design, who would benefit from it the most and how to make it as effective as possible with best User Experience. New versions were created, rejected, and then recreated again several times.

The timing and speed becomes very important when you use the application often. The exact balance between efficiency and visual effects was found! But not immediately… Designers and motion designers, software engineers, sound engineers along with product managers worked hard and after a few proof of concepts the group came close to the creation of full fledged motion UI software product!

…Coming soon to your screens…

One of the first versions of the motion UI software concept is here. It represents the concept, a real world application is going to be much better 🙂

Credit to Pishang Ujeniya for the background used in this concept.

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