how important are aesthetics and color scheme ?

jake · Post by **jake** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:01 pm

im interested to know because i had been admiring how nice a modcan system looked and how it all fit in its nice white cabinet and looked super nice. do you like things that go together? how much does the color matter? i know theres some fugly ass eurorack modules **cough 4ms noise swash**
but theres some nicer looking ones like all of mike browns modules. i find it annoying. doepfer do it right having one colour for module design, just grey is dull IMO. maybe im just been pissy but i cant stop admiring how modulars look all of a sudden. .com modulars and 5u still look nice because its all nice wood and the same looking module design lol

jake · Post by **jake** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:01 pm

did i mention its nice?

rico loverde · Post by **rico loverde** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:20 pm

to me the looks are important to some degree. its def easier for me and by oct when things have a bit of cohesiveness. thats why i usually grow my modules by manufacturer. the white mod can stuff is beautiful IMO.

CJ Miller · Post by **CJ Miller** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:52 pm

jake wrote:doepfer do it right having one colour for module design, just grey is dull IMO.

That's why Dark Energy is so great!

falafelbiels · Post by **falafelbiels** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:07 pm

MORE. COLOR. NOW.

!

causticlogic · Post by **causticlogic** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:10 pm

Of course looks matter! It makes the module sound better - kind of like racing stripes make a car faster...

Just look at all the Malekko/Wiard stuff. It looks awesome, which is why it sounds that way too.

causticlogic · Post by **causticlogic** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:12 pm

Hey falafelbiels, what is the module with all the switches? A sequencer?

vmgas · Post by **vmgas** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:13 pm

i like some variety in knobs and face plates but fuck there are some hideous modules that i straight would not purchase based on appearance. flight of harmony, fuck those look awful. lookin like some dudes forearm at a korn show mixed with a monster energy drink or something. that noise swash looks like shit.
hate the majority of blacet text and not a big fan of the knobs. i usually scratch off or black out the text of my blacet modules.
some euro stuff looks like some kind of mountain dew or maybe a redbull ad
cant get into that. kinda cheap.

metalbox, bugbrand, macbeth, stg, and addac probably are the most visually appealing to me
i just get distracted by shit that looks too retarded

gwaidan · Post by **gwaidan** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:13 pm

CJ Miller wrote:
jake wrote:doepfer do it right having one colour for module design, just grey is dull IMO.
That's why Dark Energy is so great!

Grey was forced on Doepfer by Kraftwerk's preferences AFAIK...Dieter has said that the colour scheme isn't his preference either.

falafelbiels · Post by **falafelbiels** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:20 pm

causticlogic wrote:Hey falafelbiels, what is the module with all the switches? A sequencer?

It's a combination module of CGS Pulse divider and CGS Matrix Mixer so yeah, that makes a sequencer.
Sadly it doesn't really have enough COLOR.

jonah · Post by **jonah** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:39 pm

I find EMS's aesthetics really inviting. Perhaps OS X was inspired by the synthi? But I mean, http://www.synthfind.com/category/poly-synthi/

I wonder if there's something like styleflip (custom vinyl stickers that don't leave a residue) for modulars?

Now that modulars are becoming more trendy I think we'll start seeing design firms like teenage engineering get involved. I'd like to see some architects get involved myself. A Cecil Balmond designed modular would be pretty amazing I bet. This could be a bad thing for prices, but in the best cases good design can vastly improve the usability, ergonomics and also the inspiration you get from the design itself. Sometimes I feel modulars are a bit too "right brained".

Dave Peck · Post by **Dave Peck** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:00 pm

I don't mind some modules that don't look exactly like the rest of the modules, as long as they look like something that belongs in a synth. But I don't want stuff that looks like graffiti art in my synth, or stuff that has intentionally messed up graphics that are nearly impossible to read.

numan7 · Post by **numan7** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:27 pm

well yes, hardware visual aesthetics matter... and no, they don't!
(which way do *you* want it to be?)

cheers

mojopin · Post by **mojopin** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:46 pm

the moment you care about this kind of stuff, you're fucked. you're a fucking collector.

rico loverde · Post by **rico loverde** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:55 pm

mojopin wrote:the moment you care about this kind of stuff, you're fucked. you're a fucking collector.

i care and i def dont consider myself a collector. its the same thing to me as appreciating skateboard art, and i skated for 20+ years

CF3 · Post by **CF3** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:57 pm

It's all about the looks... they're basically all the same behind the panel.

numan7 · Post by **numan7** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:57 pm

(@mojopin) i thought collectors only really cared about the model-name and the resale value (although i guess resale-value is somewhat related to visual aesthetics... part of why they go so nutz over the ultra-cute synthi hardware, i suppose).

well layed-out and pleasant-looking interfaces are more useful for instrument players than otherwise.

cheers

frijitz · Post by **frijitz** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:01 pm

It only matters when I wear it to the prom.

But you are missing a bigger problem. Panel-dimension limitations force function to follow form. Totally bass-ackwards.

Ian

Christopher Winkels · Post by **Christopher Winkels** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:04 pm

I don't understand how one can't care about aesthetics. We're generally participants on this site because we appreciate qualities of sound. Why is it such a stretch to want the visual and haptic qualities of our modules to be satisfactory too?

rico loverde · Post by **rico loverde** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:13 pm

Christopher Winkels wrote:I don't understand how one can't care about aesthetics. We're generally participants on this site because we appreciate qualities of sound. Why is it such a stretch to want the visual and haptic qualities of our modules to be satisfactory too?

Exactly!

mojopin · Post by **mojopin** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:00 pm

frijitz wrote:But you are missing a bigger problem. Panel-dimension limitations force function to follow form.

How true is this? Just make it as wide as needed. I did pick euro because I live in a tiny apartment. But now, even if I had the space, I would stick with it because I like having everything at arms length. This is the gray area of aesthetics but when talking about color and designs.. I don't care. But, yes, I can see how it would bother certain types. I just get annoyed reading about people endlessly switching formats and bemoaning a lack of inspiration. Inspiration will never come form the 'right' format or manufacturer or knob size or color or whatever. It comes from focused work which comes from within. And the argument that one is trying to build/find the right instrument is flawed. The modular is a chameleon. It can be whatever you want it to be. The fact that you can wire up different machines means it will always be an unwieldy beast. Much more than a simple instrument. Just my

whitewulfe · Post by **whitewulfe** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:07 pm

I personally think it only matters if things go together... Probably why I like the dotcom (and to a lesser extent MOTM) format so much. Nice, chunky knobs and beefy cables. So it takes up a 5' wide section in the living room... I don't care about that. But I also suffer from "large hand-itis", and being anal about faceplates more or less matching (instead of looking like a variety of colours thrown about a canvas with seemingly little thought to the process).

Different strokes for different folks.

mckenic · Post by **mckenic** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:40 pm

I prolly wont get a Modulation Orgy because I think it looks childish and does not appeal to me nor make me want to tweak it. Similarly, I wouldnt have bought a Sound of Shadows today because of the panel. Its my fav module so I would be major-time missing out! (it was my first diy kit and my 4th module)

I dont have photo sensitive problems or anything but I get REGULAR migraines.
I really want an Ardcore but dont think the mix of colours on the panel with 4ms RCD blinkenlights would be good for my eyes... SERIOUSLY considering skipping it...

That level of contrast, in a dim room, with other modules pulsing leds - for me =

So for me, colour scheme and more importantly contrast are HUGE issues!

[EDIT - just re-read that and wanted to say - I think the Modulation Orgy is a FANTASTIC idea and seems to be done really well... if I were getting one, I'd have to ask qu.one for some help!]

alialenya · Post by **alialenya** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:55 pm

falafelbiels wrote:MORE. COLOR. NOW.

!

ugh!!! gross. sorry but no.

design is very important. rainbow with microsft word font presets a big no no.

type is almost as important as color. buchla got it right.. i like malekko. hate wiard papyrus shit.

alialenya · Post by **alialenya** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:57 pm

vmgas wrote:i like some variety in knobs and face plates but fuck there are some hideous modules that i straight would not purchase based on appearance. flight of harmony, fuck those look awful. lookin like some dudes forearm at a korn show mixed with a monster energy drink or something. that noise swash looks like shit.
hate the majority of blacet text and not a big fan of the knobs. i usually scratch off or black out the text of my blacet modules.
some euro stuff looks like some kind of mountain dew or maybe a redbull ad
cant get into that. kinda cheap.

metalbox, bugbrand, macbeth, stg, and addac probably are the most visually appealing to me
i just get distracted by shit that looks too retarded

even worse. ICP is now designing modules. any juggl0 wigglers IN DA HAUGHHH?

MUFF WIGGLER

MUFF WIGGLER

how important are aesthetics and color scheme ?

does the look/color of your modular or modules matter

how important are aesthetics and color scheme ?

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Re: how important are aesthetics and color scheme ?