They really do need a good industrial designer to improve the looks of their scopes. They are just so, bland
I'm an industrial designer (studying other stuff now, be yes, I am one, did mostly furniture for shops and the shops themselves for over 10 years):
And I think they have a design partner, but the priorities are wrong.
Let me explain:A scope is a tool; you wire up, do things, mod a setting, do things, repeat Xn times.
For that result, the designer must conceive something that is intuitive, simple, logical.
If a "normal" user has to get the manual out for simple tasks, the designer has lost.
All the while also making sure that:
- Marketing/sales can sell it.
- Is in the budget, can be scaled.
- Engineers can make it happen, even if the designer needs to push them outside their comfort zone.
- Will fit within the tools set for production (injection, fabrication to assembly) - even if by using standard tools in a novel way.
- The form factor, the shape must be an added value, even if it's just a tool. People like nice tools.
- Make sure that it has the big bosses pet peeve sorted so that it gets rubber stamped ASAP.
- etc...
A good designer is an interface between selling, buying, penny counting, aesthetics, usage, industrialisation and decision takers. Not an artist, not an engineer.
So if I analyse this "object", this is what I see:
- The first "error" I see is the lack of contrast: those greys are neat and non offensive, but the eye has to search.
Solution, ditch the medium grey and use black or very dark grey, make the light grey medium.
- Colour coding of the channels, the reminder around the scale buttons is insufficient. If your two hands are at the top making a fine adjustment and you have a instant of confusion (it happens even to highly trained fighter pilots, so it happens to all of us), you need to peek under your hands or take one of the instrument to be sure.
A line that goes from the "Position" to the connector is needed. Or coloured knobs. Something.
- The big fat name on top of the screen. Why? The costumer has bought the scope, does he really need to be reminded of the brand ALL the time? Selling is done, now costumer satisfaction must take over.
Plus that's valuable work space that should be left flat and just the width of masking tape to write stuff (all good mixing desks have this).
Furthermore, the real estate between the power button and the USB is taller, so marketing can put a big arsed logo and lots of wank words that will give them hard ons during hour slong meetings about, er, what
do they do in those meetings?
- Lack of reference points on the knobs, even if the pots are 10 turns, put a black dot on them for visual reference FFS!
- Power button MUST BE CONTRASTED, black or red for those "OHFAKOHFAKOHFAK" moments we all have had.
- I don't get the bottom of the scope; it seems to be designed by somebody else.
- Punch the dude who thought it was good idea to put 28% grey text on a 30% grey back ground. Seriously, punch him.
- Why do the vents have to be 1980's IBM bland? It costs the same, and they are as efficient (or more) with shapes lifted from aircraft's or F1 cars.
- An yeah, the side/rear mouldings are not aligned with anything in the front... My 1st boss would have slapped me and made me wash his car for this.
- Could go on and on...
The crux of the problem is that this kind of product MUST be designed with the premise of; "I'm drunk and I've lost my glasses, could I still use this tool? Does it still look good? Or do I want to spew all over it?".
A good designer will solve these issues, while playing the aesthetic chess to stay ahead.
A bad designer will solve these issues, then attempt to "prettify it" at the end. This is how 90% of products are made and why they look like crap or/and are bland.
Rant over.