
Welcome to the eighth instalment of Meet Your Maker with Tim Harbour, Calrec's UI/UX Designer. So, what is GUI design, and why should we care?
1. What is GUI design, and how do you approach it?
The starting point for everything we design is to focus on our customers' needs: how they use our products and what they need to do with them. Our products should help them do a better job.
Context is important, so when someone is setting up a show or configuring a system, we focus on what they need at that point. When someone is in the middle of mixing a sports event or a news broadcast, we think about what they need at that moment, so the things they need are close to hand and easy to access at the right time.
We try to balance the needs of our different users, their different business needs and varying requirements at different times.
There are also ergonomic factors like the sizes of buttons, visibility of text, and ensuring there's consistency with the design of our physical products and with the DNA of our older products.
Our aim is to make everything as simple, clear and easy to use as we can, without losing any of the flexibility and power that Calrec products are known for.
2. We read a lot about the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX). Which one is more relevant to Calrec, or is it not that simple?
It's not that simple. UI and UX are really closely related.
User interface (UI) design tends to be about the things we display on screen, and the finer detail of what those things look like and how they behave. Keeping everything intuitive and consistent across all Calrec products is important, but the UI design is just one part of the overall user experience (UX).
UX design encompasses much more. It's about listening to the people who use our products and finding elegant solutions to address their needs and producing products that live up to our values.
It's said that when design is really good, you hardly notice it at all. A good UX helps people do what they need to do. A great UX vanishes while doing it.
So it's both - you can't have a great UX without a great UI. They are both critical to provide our customers with the best possible experience when they use a Calrec product.
3. How does colour affect the user experience? Do you account for colour-blind or otherwise visually impaired people?
We use colour very intentionally at Calrec. We use colour to reflect different areas of functionality and that helps people quickly identify where they are and what different parts of the UI do.
This can create a challenge for some people because it can be difficult to tell the difference between things. Between five and 10% of people that use Calrec products will have some sort of colour vision deficiency, so one of the ways we continue to improve is by not relying solely on colour to communicate meaning.
A common example is to use red or green to represent on and off. It might seem logical to show off in red, and on in green. One small change, such as displaying a check mark in the on state, will help communicate on without relying only on colour. This example would be particularly helpful for people with a red/green colour impairment, but it actually helps everyone.
A lot of our work to improve accessibility is like that. Making sure that text is readable and understandable helps everybody that uses our products, not just people with accessibility needs. We are continually improving the accessibility of our UI design, so you'll be seeing more of these improvements come through.
4. How has the way Calrec users interact with mixing consoles changed? Where do you see this going in the future?
The adoption of AoIP has prompted many changes, but it has made the patching and configuration side of things a lot more flexible, more powerful, and much more complex. In the past, we would have a finite and carefully managed number of connections. The advent of IP has created effectively infinite and infinitely flexible connectivity, so our customers now have a whole new set of needs that come along with that.
Finding things easily becomes much more important. Making sense of large and complicated networks and managing that complexity becomes much more important, and all the while we need to maintain the key things that make Calrec products easy to use in operation.
We're working hard to bring that trademark Calrec sense and ease-of-use to increasingly complex and powerful environments.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
11/05/2026
New production unit features not only wealth of Ross gear but also Sony cameras, Canon lenses, and a Calrec Argo S audio board...
11/05/2026
Solid State Logic (SSL) has announced TCA Tour, a portable fly-away audio production system built from System T components for broadcast, touring, and live prod...
11/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced it will serve as Official Connectivity Integ...
11/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and NETGEAR AV have announced a plugin that automates network configuration for G&D KVM-over-IP deployments on NETGEAR AV Line infra...
11/05/2026
The Famous Group (TFG) and Elite Edge, a production studio specializing in live-action production, show opens, set design, and fabrication for sports and live e...
11/05/2026
The native of S o Paulo, Brazil, will play a crucial role in the broadcaster'...
11/05/2026
Cobalt Digital will exhibit its IPMX/ST 2110 product lineup at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D2-4), anchored by the COBALT blueCORE family of standalone signal pro...
11/05/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5C1-10), demonstrating...
11/05/2026
T-Mobile is serving as a technology partner for the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, deploying 5G connectivity and ...
11/05/2026
Vizrt has announced it has been named an Official Technical Supplier of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, in partnership with host broadcaster ORF. The 70th edi...
11/05/2026
The WNBA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced a multi-year partnership making AWS the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the WNBA. AWS is also joini...
11/05/2026
Austrian private broadcaster kronehit publicly awarded SLG Broadcast AG and Lawo...
11/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
11/05/2026
As Eurovision fans gear up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic song ...
11/05/2026
Pela primeira vez na hist ria, o Brasil figura entre os oito maiores mercados de...
11/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced the Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modellin...
11/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced the blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWl...
11/05/2026
Performance-focused sequencer with microtonal control
Berlin-based KOMA Elektronik have announced Monoplex, a new 42HP Eurorack sequencer designed for hands...
11/05/2026
Boasts wireless control from mobile devices
The latest iteration of IK Multimedia's compact amp and effects modelling pedal expands on the capabilities ...
11/05/2026
Spans traditional orchestral and experimental sounds
Sonora Cinematic have recently released the third instalment in their Transfigured Orchestra series, de...
11/05/2026
Our exhibition coverage
Watch all our SUPERBOOTH 2026 video coverage in one place. Check back to this page regularly as we will be updating with more video ...
11/05/2026
You're not meant to look at an Eclipse, but you won't be able to take yo...
11/05/2026
L3Harris has completed more than 50% of a nationwide effort to rebuild the invisible backbone of America's airspace....
11/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is participating in the Equity Forum Ge...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/05/2026
As Asia Pacific's streaming market continues to evolve, operators across the region are rebalancing their strategies and shifting their focus from subscribe...
11/05/2026
LONDON, MAY 11, 2026 QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will showcase its latest innovat...
11/05/2026
Cobalt Digital's BroadcastAsia Line-up Highlights Flexible End-to-End IPMX/ST 2110 Ecosystem
Award-winning blueCORE standalone signal processors at the he...
11/05/2026
Encompass Digital Media, in partnership with VideoMagic International, announced at NAB 2026 the launch of Altitude Intelligence, an AI-powered platform designe...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/05/2026
Alfalite, the only European manufacturer of LED screens, has completed a major new corporate installation in Spain with the upgrade of the auditorium at Torre I...
11/05/2026
11 May 2026
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board and Chairman, Reaffirming Confiden...
11/05/2026
Fox Corporation Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results NEW YORK, NY, May 11, 2026 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Company ) t...
11/05/2026
Arvato Systems Becomes a Member of InsurLab Germany
Collaboration in the insurance industrys leading innovation network
G tersloh - Arvato Systems has joine...
11/05/2026
Pirate Predator uncovers new information from victims and survivors of abuse on ...
10/05/2026
Berklee Honors Jacob Collier, Jill Scott, and Vinnie Colaiuta at 2026 Commenceme...
10/05/2026
RT ALL-IRELAND DRAMA FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED DURING GALA AWARDS STREAMED LIVE ON RTE.IE/CULTURE
Kilmeen Drama Group hailing from Rossmore, Co. Cork Scoops ...
09/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modelling, F...
09/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWless ...
09/05/2026
New SoundApp ARA Plugin Transforms Boris FX CrumplePop
Jessie Electa Petrov May 9, 2026
0 Comments
CrumplePop 2026.5 streamlines music, voice, and cin...
09/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
NBC's 9:16 live-production workflows power Courtside Live, Rinkside Live, Vi...
08/05/2026
Native 1080p HDR productions will rely on a mix of remote workflows from Bristol and Los Angeles
Despite another prosperous WNBA season in 2025, there was no g...