What do your user's want to control? What are you allowing them to control? Are they the same thing? If not, you could offer them a much better experience by letting them control their desired outcome. This article is focused on HMI and analog EQ controls.
Equalizer controls
The parametric EQs that are used in professional recording studios are both functional and beautiful. Of all the places I would think aesthetics would not matter much, a recording studio would be one.
Traditional analog sliders control a band of EQ. Digital representations of analog controls were made for software. It was familiar and the engineers knew what it did and how to use it immediately. Adjust the sliders for each band to sculpt the eq.
The graphic equalizer allows you to select any part of the curve and modify it by dragging it to the exact location you want. The curve adjusts accordingly.
The aesthetics are beautifully executed. Thin lines, fluid curves, and color-coded frequencies make it an enjoyable interaction. It's human nature to be drawn to things that look attractive.
Functionally the graphic equalizer is superior to the analog sliders. Color coding of the bands instantly identifies and separates them. The curve can be selected and manipulated at any band instead of the predetermined selections. This allows for optimization.
How to apply this idea to your products:
Don't allow yourself to be stuck in the box of legacy interactions even though they are safe and comfortable. At one time they served their purpose. You have an opportunity to move on and improve your product experience.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself and your team:
What are the users trying to control?
Is that what they are interacting with?
How can you visualize it in an attractive way?
How can you assist them with optimization?
Another way of asking is:
What do the controls affect?
Does that affect something else?
If it does, you may need to change your interface or HMI.
Controls in a Car
It doesn't have separate controls for air, fuel, and spark to control acceleration. People would be crashing into all kinds of things if they did. In a car, the user wants to control acceleration. There is an accelerate pedal and a decelerate pedal. That's it. They don't need to deal with the complexity of how it works. The car can handle that.
Just as with the car, there's a good possibility this will complicate things on the back end of your product. It's inherently part of simplifying an experience. The system automating complexity is compensating for the simple interaction.
It is worth it. You are selling something to be used that you want people to recommend to others or to buy again. Give them a great experience. The cost of developmental time and effort will pay off because the repetitive cost of the user's time and effort will hurt you.
Go out there and make your products better and execute them beautifully.
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