Opinion: Keysight new design theme

[test_engnr78]

Hi Guys,

What you all think about the new design theme adopted by Keysight. Going the Lecroy way ?

http://www.keysight.com/main/editorial.jspx?cc=US&lc=eng&ckey=2693281&id=2693281&cmpid=zzfindnewlook

Pen in your thoughts

Test_Buddy

[DimitriP]

We'll see how long it lasts ....

[Satch]

I don't know about this. The old white-ish base with light grey colour trim scheme on the bench meters is pretty iconic. I am not even in the electronics field but I easily recogise the 'HP' 3400 series from a distance even though they haven't been branded as such for years. Is this going to affect all the products or more just the analysers?

[tszaboo]

All I see here is that they have a different color for their 50K buck instruments, and someone stole the philosopy of the iPod (which is fine). Will this make any difference in the "low end" region?
"Leading edge materials" Like steel and thicker ABS. I always say, you can solve most of the quality issues with thicker ABS.

[Wuerstchenhund]

Hi Guys,

What you all think about the new design theme adopted by Keysight. Going the Lecroy way ?

http://www.keysight.com/main/editorial.jspx?cc=US&lc=eng&ckey=2693281&id=2693281&cmpid=zzfindnewlook

Pen in your thoughts

From that link:

We are re-defining what “modern” means for design, validation & test

- Benchtop instrument migration from hard front-panel keys to dynamic interactive display with multi-touch (pinch/zoom) GUI provides a modern measurement experience
- Efficient, streamlined measurement set-ups 2 clicks away, so you can arrive at your results more quickly
- Leading edge materials make up the elements of our new design
- Innovations designed for customer’s environment address evolving challenges

I noticed that Keysight's new signal analyzers come in a new black-ish design. Not sure they did a great job, though. If you look at LeCroy, their black instruments (aside from the bought-in WaveAce/WaveStation) have silver applications on knobs and bright markings which make control elements visually distinguishable even in substandard lighting conditions. The Keysight front panel however is just dark, the buttons (which are pretty much all dark in color) are not visually separated. This doesn't help in situations where lighting is poor.

As to their point regarding moving from physical buttons to touch controls, I think that's pretty risky. Touch interfaces are very difficult to get right, i.e. see cell phones (touch screen phones have existed before the iPhone, yet Apple were the first ones who nailed the UX part). Keysight still has a long way to go, just look at their current scopes. Even the latest Infiniium-V comes with an UI that can't hide that it was originally designed as a desktop Windows application for mouse control, with touch control being an afterthought. LeCroy on the other hand has developed it's scope UI (MAUI) right from the start for touch operation, and this clearly shows.

I guess Keysight marketing feels they need some change, but change for change's sake was never a good idea. Keysight instruments were so successful because their usability was very good, not despite but because of things like the grey/white front or lots of physical knobs and buttons. I understand the intention to make devices more attractive but at the moment I see the danger that this is done at the cost of usability.

[TinkerFan]

I quite like the black design, as long as they don't change the name again...

[Wuerstchenhund]

I quite like the black design, as long as they don't change the name again...

KeyBlack? 

[AF6LJ]

Looks like low end amateur radio gear from Japan.   

[poorchava]

I quite like the black design, as long as they don't change the name again...

KeyBlack? 

Somehow "BlackSight" or "DarkSight" seems more appropriate to me...

[stmdude]

I quite like the black design, as long as they don't change the name again...

Aw, come on. It's been like a year-and-a-half already.  Aren't they overdue for a name-change?   

[Dielectric]

I like the two-click design goal.  The Infiniium MSO I used had some rather deep menus and scattered control elements for setting up things like the logic analyzer options.  Otherwise it was a pretty awesome rig.  The new Instek scope I just got is the same way, it takes a bunch of presses on two different banks of buttons to get to a lot of things.

I always thought the LeCroy Wave* scopes looked sweet but I never had a chance to use one very long.  Can't comment on the dark interface, but it seems pretty common in SW development so maybe that's a thing?

[DimitriP]

Can't comment on the dark interface, but it seems pretty common in SW development so maybe that's a thing?

Might be the wrong thing...we still write on white paper with dark implements and even for some e-readers the claim to fame is the "paper white screen".

As far as "a thing in s/w development, developers are being "hit" by some much junk and crap the various companies are trying to make it into "a thing" that makes it pretty hard to fugure out which of the supposed trends out there are legit or not.

As for Keysight, they could have hired a <insert title here> that came from the "wrong" industry, so now they have a "new direction".  It happened to HP with the Leo Apotheker genius, why not to keysight.
We'll see who walks out of Keysight a few millions richer in the next few weeks or months ....

[tggzzz]

"Innovations designed for customer’s environment address evolving challenges" is prime corporate-speak bollocks. Two clicks is a good usability goal.

I'm still using a 40 year old HP scope. I wonder if the touchscreen will still work or be replacable in 40 years.

[robert_]

Cant complain about black front panels. I really hope they also get around to get the LED brightness to an acceptable (maybe adjustable) level. I have got some R+S stuff with extremely bright white LEDs on every button, most of which now got a black plastic flap covering the front panel when its not in use (but has to be left on to keep it warm)...

Most lab benches are lit brightly for a good reason, having a huge wall of white equipment to direct most of that light in ones eyes isnt to good. Also, theres not much need to focus ones attention to the front panel, what happens on the display is what is important with pretty much all of todays instruments.
An analog scope with a dark front panel would be bad, as one still had to focus on the mechanical position of the controls, so all was white back then. Now, with all relative encoders and buttons, its different.

[Wuerstchenhund]

Cant complain about black front panels. I really hope they also get around to get the LED brightness to an acceptable (maybe adjustable) level. I have got some R+S stuff with extremely bright white LEDs on every button, most of which now got a black plastic flap covering the front panel when its not in use (but has to be left on to keep it warm)...

Are you sure there is no brightness control for the front panel LEDs? I don't know Hameg stuff but the 'proper' R&S gear that has LEDs on the front panel tends to come with a brightness control.

Most lab benches are lit brightly for a good reason, having a huge wall of white equipment to direct most of that light in ones eyes isnt to good.

Most test gear has been using bright colors on a matte finish, because it does not reflect most light directly into the eye (or to a fixed point like a mirror) but back over a very large area, which actually reduces eye strain.

Also, theres not much need to focus ones attention to the front panel, what happens on the display is what is important with pretty much all of todays instruments.

Only as long as you have to use any of the many buttons on the front panel of these Keysight Signal Analyzers.

An analog scope with a dark front panel would be bad, as one still had to focus on the mechanical position of the controls, so all was white back then. Now, with all relative encoders and buttons, its different.

Not really. Years of scientific research into ergonomics haven't become invalid just because we now have digital instruments.

[rsjsouza]

I noticed that Keysight's new signal analyzers come in a new black-ish design. Not sure they did a great job, though. If you look at LeCroy, their black instruments (aside from the bought-in WaveAce/WaveStation) have silver applications on knobs and bright markings which make control elements visually distinguishable even in substandard lighting conditions. The Keysight front panel however is just dark, the buttons (which are pretty much all dark in color) are not visually separated. This doesn't help in situations where lighting is poor.

This observation brought me back when black fascia became the norm in the consumer audio gear in the 1980s... You could distinguish from a distance the well thought out designs from the lower cost ones. The high contrast and perfect delineation of the buttons and functional areas is absolutely critical for usability.

Despite I personally like the black fascia, from what I see from the linked signal analyzer page there are not many rotary knobs that would demand highlighting. I would only wish to see some delineation of the number keypads and some physical bump on the "number 5" (to position your fingers without looking). Another entirely different issue is regarding the placement: on the N9030B, for example, the power on/off looks too close to the number 0...  (but that is another discussion).

As to their point regarding moving from physical buttons to touch controls, I think that's pretty risky. Touch interfaces are very difficult to get right, i.e. see cell phones (touch screen phones have existed before the iPhone, yet Apple were the first ones who nailed the UX part).

A decent touch interface is extremely demanding from a SW standpoint. Even today, not everyone that boasts touch-ability on their products (including several consumer/computing brands) got this entirely right.

[bitseeker]

Black, white, gray, beige, etc. Meh, it's all been done before. I have stuff to fit every category. As has been said, it's the usability that matters. After all, we use instruments, not gaze at their design theme.

Touch screens are good in that they can provide interfaces that are optimized for what needs to get done at any moment in time. However, they also get covered in schmutz and then don't respond reliably, especially for drag/pinch/slide/draw operations. I have mixed feelings (no pun intended at the time) about touch screens and still prefer physical controls (which could be accompanied by dynamic labels!).

[TerraHertz]

Nice to see a return to flat panels with rectangular arrays of buttons, which is quite old style and I like it. Front panels that look like they are trying to imitate a sports car in form just irritate me.

As for black... sigh. This seems to be a fad at the moment, that started in web design and software utilities.  Granted it can have some practical benefit if you want to minimize glare from secondary things to concentrate of important stuff, like the data display screen. But I notice the instruments shown have screen color schemes that are the same 'dull colors on black background'.
Personally I loathe this general color scheme. If I wanted to go to a funeral, I could. Otherwise I'd prefer bright cheerful colors, that don't tend to induce feelings of gloom and despair.

I would NOT like to be looking at these dreary gray-black color schemes on an expensive scope all the time.
Not that I'd ever be able to afford them anyway. But if I could, they'd better be cheerful looking. These aren't.