Maintaining the stoke after the shredding’s done.
GoPro makes one of the most popular cameras in the world. Their devoted users tend to be adrenaline junkies who need to feel confident their camera will get the shot every time; they know they may not get a second chance. They also know nothing backs up bragging rights like great looking evidence.
GoPro Camera and LCD BacPac User Interface
Role: Visual Design, Specifications
Working with: Swim Interaction Design
Working with the Swim UX team I designed the highly-constrained interfaces for GoPro’s HD Hero2 and Hero3 cameras and the LCD BacPac as well.
The degree of difficulty on the project was increased dramatically by two factors: first, there are only two buttons for input on what is a fairly deep menuing system, and second, the primary display on the face of the camera is only 2-bit and is, like the camera itself, tiny.
Look Ma, only 60 by 75 pixels!
In shooting mode there is an awful lot of information to convey. And, the user may well be bouncing up and down quite a bit while trying to work with this camera. To ensure ease of use and instill user confidence, clear wayfinding cues, information hierarchies and maximized legibility were primary objectives.
There is also an optional LCD which can be attached to the back for preview. This display is high-res, but it has to map click-for-click with the tiny display on the camera face.
2-bit camera face
Hi-res camera back
The new (HD2) display is a breath of fresh air. The icon-driven menus are also easy to understand, simple to navigate and logically organized.
It's obvious that GoPro has listened to a cascade of feedback and has acted upon it for this new model.”
— Camera Labs
A little icon development
But it might have been different...
As always, a range of visual directions were presented to the client for them to choose from. Here are two alternate designs for the high-res BacPac from that presentation which didn’t make it through. The range of solutions were all based on GoPro’s colors, visual style cues and brand attributes. Ultimately, the client picked the glossy variation over the alternate dimensional and flatter options.
back to topSo, what’s next?
User interface design:
Jeppesen
Icons/spot illustration:
PartsRiver
Or:
Drop me a line to discuss a project.