Serendipitous Ideas
Here are my personal open-ended design projects. Some of them are on my plan and under researching, and some of them might just be crazy or "useless" ideas waiting to be developed.
Details
Magical Parchment
A notepad app design for Mac, focusing on evoking anytime & anywhere
Concept
By swipe two fingers from the left edge of the touchbar to the right anytime, the notepad slides out on from the left side of the screen and suspends. Inspired by how toolbar is evoked on Mac.
After editing, swipe two fingers back until outside the left edge, the notepad will slide outside to the left too. Like Wizards' magical parchments, appear at anytime & anywhere they want to write, and just disappear when they are done.
Protect the "flow"
It was inspired when I was really annoyed once by looking for the notepad software. I shifted between screens (I was using a Mac), and got a headache by the fast changing of lights.
For many times, creators like artists, writers, musicians or designers need to take notes in order to keep their precious ideas before they perish away; Learners like students need to take notes by copying paragraphs from materials or informatic websotes. All these people relys on a spiritual state called "flow" to keep focus and be efficient.
It is intolerable to let the tools destroy the "flow".
Then why not just click the icons under / at the top of the screen to evoke the notepad?
Well, I did a research about how people were distracted from work, sampling with a group of 150 consist of students, journalist, architects, garden designers, graphic designers, and artists. And the most 2 chosen reasons of "what mostly often distract you from work?" are "Incoming messages or Ad feeds" and "Leave the working screen and distracted by irrelavent information".
Therefore, they need a way of evocation without giving the chance of distractting irrelative information. By just moving fingers, users eyes, and their attention, is not leaving the work they are doing.
Seal for Digital Documents
A seal works for both digital and material papers
Now there are more and more pdf documents we need to sign. Even though there are softwares in both Mac and Windows for digital signing, but it is so boring to just drag the signiture everytime. The actions of picking up a seal and pressing it down give much more strength to the signiture.
Concept
Connect the computers with bluetooth or WIFI. By pressing the start button it starts connecting. After connection the operation software is evoked and preset signiture appears beside the mouse indicating the seal is ready.
If the seal is pressed and computer is in any document editor, the signiture will be placed at where the mouse is at.
It also has a software that allows importing, editting and preseting signitures, by presetting users don't need to choose the one they want everytime if they are mostly signing the same contents.
I want to move as many operations as possible to the seal from the mouse and the keyboard.
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Maybe it brings more efficiency when signing multiple papers? (With one hand just turning pages and one hand just hold on the seal and keep pressing.) I don't know yet, it needs more test. Also the confidential issues should be considered if applying to official business situations (maybe make the start button as a fingerprint key). Or maybe it's just a toy.
Actually I just want a decent seal with beatiful wooden handle, and I need a good reason to use it.
Programmable Small Keyboard
Keyboard for preset customized operations
When using complicate softwares to work for a big project, with multiple windows opend, it really makes me crazy to memorize thousands of key-combinations, doing duplicated operations forever or shifting frequently to different windows. I like operations to be simple and clear, with solid and powerful feedbacks, like ... pressing one key for one certain effect.
Press a switch and the light is on, what a delightful process.
Concept
With a software, users can bind any key with any key-combination, or any system level operation like selecting on any window. Users can evoke desired tools with just one clear pressing. Everytime I write in Engish I frequently open my dictionary software, but I don't have space for it on my screen. Now I can get it anytime simply without searching its icon or window.
Users can store different copied contents in different keys, and copy them by pressing the corresponding key. Sometimes people, like programmers, need to copy and paste more than one piece of contents. The keyboard can significantly reduce the time of shifting between windows.
I believe I will definitely buy one if it is under 20 bucks.
More Thoughts
● It can be an app on smartphones to reduce the cost, but I personally prefer the experience of material keys.
● It might be an app run on the touchbar of Macbook Pro.
Scaleplate
A set of scaleplates that suspend at the top layer of the screen
Any kind of designers who are relavent to vision needs rulers. They need to align elements, arrange things in a certain ratio, or they need to measure others' works to study what magical ratio was used to be such fantastic. Holding a ruler on the screen for once is cleverness, however, doing so forever is helplessness.
Nobody knows for sure when the rulers are needed, so the rulers should be able to suspend over any window.
Concept
Just like the screenprint function, when the Scaleplate is evoked, it hovers at the top layer of the screen. Since the OS may always let the operated software to be at the top, I can link the Scaleplate with my programable keyboard for quick evocation. Or even store different preset rulers into different keys.
Use the straight line to test weather two paragraphs are aligned. Or use the golden ration square and curve help arranging.
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Such functions are implemented in design tools like PS or InDesign, they are very useful but there are flaws like it usually requires typing numbers to get a perfect ratio, or the magnetically auto aligning is annoying sometimes. Also they cannot be used outside Adobe softwares. Co-using the Platescale might be able to help perfecting the experience.