The Form 2 is a highly advanced resin and laser-based 3D printer, released in 2015. It is equipped with a sizeable touchscreen for printer control. I was fortunate to be lead UX designer for this fascinating machine’s interface during the complete development cycle – from conception to prototyping to launch.
This was a highly challenging project, in that our engineers redesigned the previous model’s process from the ground up – and as far as the UI design was concerned, it was pretty much a moving target.
Working in parallel with mechanical, electrical, software and material engineers, constant iteration was more than a buzzword. We had to design solutions under ever-changing requirements. With an extensive beta testing program and the continuous integration of user feedback, we arrived at a product that successfully reconciles engineering requirements, user needs, as well as ease of use and aesthetics.
One of the early decisions we had to make was whether the Form 2 should have a prominent physical button next to the screen, like its little brother did (the circle in the illustration.) This led to quite some contention, as you could argue that a machine with such a generous touchscreen would not require an additional hardware button. But ultimately as a design team we were able to find support for a solution with physical button, arguing that evolving the form while maintaining the “face” was important – as well as giving the user a sense of safety and control with the affordance of an on/off button she would be able to reach blindly, without having to study any on-screen information.
A Vibrant Color Scheme & Giant Soft Key
We gave the Form 2 touch interface a distinctive look in line with the utilitarian, streamlined iconic machine design. The hardware button functions as a big soft key and is dedicated to a narrow range of functions: starting and pausing prints, putting the printer to sleep.
Process & Prototyping
Development of this project was a lot of fun. I wrote quite a lot of animation code on our hardware platform, especially in the early phase, to test what was possible. Communicating design ideas to the software team happened through a multitude of prototypes – we used After Effects, InVision, drawings, cardboard models, even interactive specifications – but especially quick demos written in QML that would run on our actual embedded system.
In this early demo you can see how the device visualizes hardware button presses with a big blue halo – a concept that later turned into the opposite: the button calling for the user to press it.
Visual Language
Finding a visual language for objects that aren’t so visual. Drawing accessories with complex outlines such as our resin tank and resin cartridge – and evolving them into compact, recognizable icons – turned out to be an interesting illustration challenge.
Our reward was a machine that was received enthusiastically by both the expert press and the professional market. It probably won’t come as a surprise that we weren’t satisfied and immediately began re-inventing the interface as soon as the printer was released.
What Reviewers Say About the Form 2
(kudos to the entire product/engineering team!)
“The touchscreen-based UI features tech-noir themed iconography and animations that would find itself at home in a movie set. This refreshing attention to detail sets the Form 2’s UI apart from the utilitarian ‘designed-by-programmers-for-geeks’ UI typical of most digital fabrication tools.” —Bunnie Huang
“The best prosumer 3D printer I’ve used.”
“The Form 2 could not be easier to use, and that is by design.”
SLA Printer of the Year 2015
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samluescher: #Spotify selects for my evening run: Goth Rock@150 steps/min. ★★★☆☆ for solving my bpm problem while inspiring angst of the cold, big world. Dec. 16, 2015
samluescher: RT @xkcdComic: Operating Systems http://t.co/UneR3KxmJ0 http://t.co/mPBZucr2C1 http://t.co/rw1jR4vHRc April 6, 2015
samluescher: Learn something useful every day before X-mas. http://t.co/Tz9kjNQFoL @24ways Dec. 9, 2014
samluescher: Giving http://t.co/ROdV5mRS5c a spin. Wonderfully designed, it smartly labels and bundles stuff for you. @inboxbygmail fixing @gmail for me? Nov. 5, 2014
samluescher: RT @cesifoti: Advertisement: The Internet's Original Sin http://t.co/fEIE9henlC by @ethanz Aug. 17, 2014
samluescher: #Bash #timesaver of the day: `alias short="that-command-I-type-500-times-a-day"` in ~/.bash_profile; now just type "short" 500 times. Aug. 14, 2014
samluescher: We are overjoyed to announce the launch of our new product, the Form 1+: http://t.co/7pFpU0eBBG. Congratulations team @formlabs #form1plus June 10, 2014
samluescher: So about revolutionizing workflows, there we go again: thanks @wesen for introducing me to the #Chrome #JS Debugger http://t.co/L4n0RQSpHE May 1, 2014
samluescher: @hairyjewbear slow response, sorry I'm not an active twitter user. Form designer updated, should work fine again with a modern django! April 17, 2014
samluescher: Feels like I revolutionize my workflow every 3 months. Added @ZURB Foundation and @compass last week; now http://t.co/vTdYyE5uQG. #olddreams March 10, 2014
samluescher: Very cool use of web #video, and great projects! http://t.co/FwcnDqU6jF Jan. 8, 2014
samluescher: Bye bye #skeuobashing, no more leather + canvas – and we don't even have to pay for it. Thanks Apple. Oct. 22, 2013
samluescher: Impressed with Sketch! Fresh+un-annoying alternative to CS. Try it out, interface designer friends: http://t.co/Yx2vqvfKUW @bohemiancoding Aug. 13, 2013
samluescher: RT @aaronkoblin: Yelp word maps are fantastic. Loving the accuracy of SF "Hipster" http://t.co/0eGW88ncHB Aug. 5, 2013
samluescher: Bem-vindo Brazil @ Rio de Janeiro http://t.co/cIdvvdkZqv July 7, 2013
samluescher: The moment when Apple started to imitate Windows 8. http://t.co/uJhzt6Zzt6 (+ the lost years we spent mastering the Photoshop gradient tool) June 11, 2013
samluescher: Achievement Unlocked: Epidexipteryx https://t.co/S2PAFMqfUn via @coderwall May 30, 2013
samluescher: Obviously the average color of a film frame will be rather dull. Nonetheless, neat #visualization http://t.co/hpkew3YBve May 8, 2013
samluescher: Hard lesson learned [again]: real world just doesn't align with a video feed, a projector AND a virtual world at the same time. #dirtyhacks April 15, 2013
samluescher: So if there are only 15,700 Google results for #SoMoClo, there must still be at least a couple of startup ideas in there, right? April 9, 2013