Core77

Yea or Nay? Palette's Modular Physical Dials, Buttons and Sliders for Computer Work

Tactile advantage?

By Rain Noe - September 12, 2016

in Consumer Electronics | UX

Palettes are a series of clean-looking dials, sliders and buttons that bring tactility to operations you'd normally perform on-screen. Here's a quick example:

Enter a caption (optional)

I'm mightily impressed at the thought that went into the UX. Take a look at how you set these up:

Enter a caption (optional)

The design seems pretty great. The magnets are smart and I dig that the little OLED screen displays what app you're in. And despite the fact that the modules appear to slide across the desk a bit too easily in the video, the company says that "Rubberized bases keep Palette firmly planted on your desktop as you slide, press and turn."

Enter a caption (optional)

The standard units are aluminum, but they've also got a handsome version done in solid cherry.

Enter a caption (optional)

I'm putting this up as a "yea or nay" because despite how well-designed and clever these are, I'm not sure I'd sacrifice precious desk space to incorporate the system. I'd love the buttons for Photoshop, where I often have to hunt and peck through a series of commands, and the dial for editing videos in Premiere, although it's hard to beat key taps for frame-by-frame accuracy. I don't have any use for the sliders, though; I've always found sliders, as an interface, to be imprecise.

Enter a caption (optional)

I work on a laptop, and in general I like to keep my hands on the keyboard and trackpad; I stopped using a mouse long ago because I don't like reaching. I've also grown fond of keyboard shortcuts, but admittedly I can't tell if it's for efficiency's sake or because I've developed Stockholm Syndrome.

What say you, would Palettes fit into your workflow? And would you be willing to spare the desktop real estate?

Enter a caption (optional)

These are, by the way, just about the opposite of that Fidget Cube.

o
1

Favorite This
Q
5

Comment

Comments

Ian Page-Echols

8 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I use a midi dial controller all the time for the develop mode of Lightroom specifically (with the Knobroom plugin on macOS). It's much easier to always have specific dials set for this compared to the tiny fiddly sliders in the program. I also have found myself using the iOS app for this part of things because it also allows for more control.

!Report as spam
Aaron Tuck

8 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Would be great for music production if each knob had a writing surface e.g. whiteboard or digital programmable display stating what they did.

!Report as spam
Laurent Pastorelli

8 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Yeah on it (except for the insane price they asking for)
I used to VJ and USB controller are much more accurate than typing on a keyboard,
as a designer I use a wacom and there are short cuts and buttons to assign to your software, but it's far away in from pushing a slider or turning a knob.
there are few options to do DIY buttons, but you have to use processing + arduino + apple script, which is a bit... messy in comparison of what those guys offer.

!Report as spam
- Oli Sparrow
  
  Laurent Pastorelli
  
  8 years ago
  
  Z
  
  Z
  
  Reply
  
  The tactile fine tuning possibilities are quite appealing but I can't imagine that this is a suitable form for anything other than dedicated pro workstations; and even then only really as a (dare I say it) novelty extra.
  
  The capabilities of products like Wacom's tablets, 3D Connexion's mice and even the old Logitech NuLooq are similar enough without the need for several modules.
  
  What is quite nice is the potential for multiple users being able to interact with what's shown on screen with simple dials. Where non-technical people wouldn't necessarily know how to change the opacity of an object in Photoshop, they could contribute by manipulating simple sliders and dials.
  
  !Report as spam
  - Laurent Pastorelli
    
    Oli Sparrow
    
    8 years ago
    
    Z
    
    Z
    
    yeap, it's only for the style.
    I like this idea of multiple users doing something together. that could be a fun thing to do.
    
    !Report as spam