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418: Fictional User Interfaces

November 3, 2021

This week, we talk about the weird and beautiful world of fictional user interfaces: why do futuristic UIs look so cool? And why aren't they usable? Is the future really going to look like this? In The Sidebar, we share our must-have macOS apps that are always installed first on a new machine.

Golden Ratio Supporters:

Play is the first native iOS design tool made for teams creating mobile products. Design, prototype, and collaborate, directly from your phone. With Play you can experience your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features not found in other design and prototyping tools. Full access invites available for the first 25 people here.

Plume empowers a billion smart devices in homes and small businesses through a suite of adaptive WiFi, AI security, and parental control. They're hiring product designers to build the future of smart home services. They're hiring product designers with 2-5 years of experience shipping products — learn more at designdetails.fm/plume. Oh, and they just raised a $270m series E, so now's the time!

Sympli brings its modern design handoff and design version control tools to your secure environment. Upgrade your collaboration workflow with Sympli's self-Hosted option. Learn more at Sympli.io.

The Sidebar:

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Main Topic:

This week, we talk about the weird and beautiful world of fictional user interfaces: why do futuristic UIs look so cool? And why aren't they usable? Is the future really going to look like this?

Cool Things:

  • Brian shared Dune, the 2021 adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal science fiction novel — yes, it's a beautiful movie. Read Dune.
  • Marshall shared To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, a new epic science fiction story from Christopher Paolini. During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

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