I came across this cool set of desktop physical controls called Monogram Creative Console. There’s just something very intriguing about the tactility, fused with the flexibility of snapping together various styles of physical controls and digital mapping for endless functions and configurations.

Theatrical consoles adroitly blend the worlds of screen-based controls with physical controls – but this is something sorely missing from most concepts of architectural lighting controls. Hardware is simply costly to develop and maintain, which is why so many lighting control companies are eager to abandon physical controls in lieu of screen controls, but this totally dehumanizes the feeling of control between an occupant of a space and the analogue/digital systems surrounding them.

It is an area of design that smart building solutions all desperately need to focus on if they actually want successful end-user experiences.