Philip Haine's articles on Product Vision, Innovation and Design

Designs to Steal

Ideas for specific designs. See also: Quick Ideas for quick & dirty ideas.

A better way to crop

Multitouch isn’t all that. Except when it is.

Nubs on number keys

Numbers have always been a challenge to type accurately on regular keyboards. Here’s a tactical fix.

How to fix the stationery feature in Mac OS X

Stationery is broken in the Mac OS. Here’s the fix, and a workaround in the mean time.

The irony of Apple’s Magic Mouse

Apple’s dubious track record of mouse design

Remember my workspace on different display arrangements

Apple laptops: Stop the Throb

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Blending it in versus bolting it on, and Alt-Tabbing

Maintain simplicity over time by blending in new functionality rather than bolting it on.

How to improve Google’s search UI

Is the Google UI really the ultimate way to peruse search results?

Email message threading is broken

Message threading is broken in some common mail apps. Here’s a fix.

Following (subscribing to) #hashtags

Maybe you do want to #follow a #channel in Twitter.

How to making the transition to DTV in time

Solving the Digital-TV switchover problem with process design.

Worlds collide on Facebook

There are legitimate reasons why people need to act differently in different spheres.

Distinguishing windows that look too similar

20 years later, it’s still hard to find the right window in a stack strewn across the desktop

Using gestures and voice for access to key tasks on a mobile device

How might the iPhone afford direct access to key apps and tasks without defiling its exterior with another dastardly button?

Apple makes the trackpad a mouse button

All kinds of potential goodness snuck in when Apple made the touchpad clickable.

A vision for a future laptop

How might the laptop form factor evolve?

4 Ways to Improve Saving Documents

Even UI designs as old as the Save dialog and the window titlebars have room for improvement.

Audio UI for Audio Players

Users of music players have their eyes busy and their ears free. Why not use the ears to augment the UI?

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Thumbs up/thumbs down button for music players

Life is too short to listen to music you don’t like.

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10 UI Wishes for 2008

Basic UI deficiencies in common products we’ve suffered for for years or decades.