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Ask HN: What are good examples of “pro” UI?

18 points by henrikeh ↗ HN
The recent discussion on best books on UI/UX[1] got me thinking: What are some good examples of user interface design for professional applications: CAD tools, audio/video editors etc. Tools which help people do a job.

Especially interested in tooling optimized for productivity and "power users" (however those are).

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18662992

16 comments

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InGodsName
Stripe is an often cited example of good UI.
[dead] cronjobma
I’d say the guys at fairpixels.pro do a pretty good job designing solid UI for B2B startups
simon_acca
matlab, bloomberg terminal, airbus cockpit, the vim keybindings
knaik94
Blender and any other programs that truly embody customizable. A power user adapts a UI to their own needs instead of adapting to the program, in my opinion.
kakarot
Blender and Foobar2000 are my favorite UIs for any end-user program. The potential for customization is endless.

Does anyone else know of programs of this caliber, with a strong emphasis on extendable UI/UX?

carloscarnero
Maya, Avid Media Composer, Pro Tools
kibibu
Oof yeah, Maya. That's a learning curve.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
gitgud
Well as a CAD/IDE/VIDEO EDITOR power user I liked the following UI concepts:

I LIKE:

- Keyboard shortcuts!

- Hide/Add menu items

- Save a copy of your settings configuration

- Scripting system in a well documented language

- Clean icon-based tabbed menu at top, like MS Word.

- Large work-space, for editing/viewing

- File browser tree on left

- Definitely a plugin system/store

I HATE:

- I hate to see thousands of menu items...

- I hate to see a lot of space dedicated to small menus that don't get used much/ever. If I don't need it, then hide it.

- When there's no way to create a shortcut

avmich
Norton Commander and derivatives.
cimmanom
The bash shell? Vim?

Photoshop/Illustrator?

tnolet
Ableton Live, Cubase.
GeneralMaximus
Seconding Ableton. Live combined with the Push 2 is the best computer interface I've seen for anything. I've often found myself starting a project at 9pm at night and just getting lost tinkering with the sounds. The next thing you know it's 2am and I'll have a headache at work tomorrow.

You can do the same thing with a keyboard and mouse, but the Push makes playful experimentation so much easier, tactile, and fun.

billconan
blender / adobe photoshop / 3ds max

their UIs are nice designed and practical.

trapsta
Sketch is the ultimate optimized UI for power users - designers. Sketch can do what both Photoshop and Illustrator can do without looking bloated and 'laggy'. It's minimalist and spartan UI hides a depth of power and functionality it's like having a la Ferrari engine underneath a Minicooper