How to Design Software With Weight

"I studied vintage radios. Design engineer and I worked with a musician to craft the sound a button makes when you tap it. And at one point in January, I found myself crouched beside a light switch in my apartment, pressing it on and off, watching how the shadow moved. I needed to understand how a real button catches light to make a fake one feel real."

"The app is deliberately sparse-few buttons and a restrained color palette-but each element is designed to feel like something you could reach out and touch, like the light switch on the wall. What follows is an inside look at the design principles and engineering decisions that we used to make a few buttons on a screen feel like something more."

Every's senior designer and design engineer share their approach to creating Monologue, a smart dictation app recently launched on iOS. The design philosophy centers on making software feel physically tangible and interactive. The team studied vintage radios, analyzed how light catches on real buttons, and collaborated with musicians to craft authentic button sounds. The app features a deliberately sparse interface with a restrained color palette and nostalgic 1990s aesthetic that appeals to millennials and Generation Z. Each design decision prioritizes quality in specific areas, with every element intentionally crafted to feel like something users could physically reach out and touch, transforming a few buttons on a screen into a meaningful, tactile experience.

Read at Every