Usually on this channel, I nerd out about fonts, logos and all things design.
But today I want to take a closer look at the tools of the trade.
Actually, a single tool, perhaps the most overlooked and under-appreciated on any creative
professionals desk: the humble mouse.
For all the emphasis given to the performance of the latest CPUs and graphics cards,ultimately
the mouse is the main physical connection between designer and computer.
For some developers, writers and spreadsheet jockeys, the keyboard might be the weapon
of choice.
90% of their job can be done without involving a cursor.
But for a large group of creatives, not only designers, it’s in fact the opposite.
The mouse is mightier than the keyboard.
My left hand might be hovering around the command and shift key, ready for a keyboard
shortcut, but the mouse is doing the heavy lifting.
I could lose basically everything east of the F key and still get through a whole working
day.
That's why the pitifully small selection of truly adequate mice for creative professionals
is so frustrating.
A perfect example, Apple just released their new Mac Studio and Studio Display aimed squarely
at creatives: video editors, designers and 3D artists.
And yes, I was seduced and bought a shiny new box, but to control this new hot shot
workstation, what our apple offering?
The magic mouse or cockroach mouse, if you prefer, – since when it dies, you have to
flip it onto its back to recharge – has been around since 2015.
And the big change this year is that it's now available in black for an additional $20.
But its biggest issue isn't just the ludicrous charging in both senses.
It's the fact that the “soap bar” is an ergonomic nightmare.
This was the standard issue mouse in multiple design studios where I've worked over the
years and like a cockroach, I wanted to smash that thing.
It's so notoriously uncomfortable, in fact, that you can buy accessories like this stick-on
silicone goiter to try to make it more functional.
But to be fair, Apple nailed one thing with a cockroach mouse: horizontal scrolling.
Sure those multi-touch gestures are cute, but the killer feature scrolling this way
*and* that way.
For creating content, the two main paradigms that software tends towards are timelines
and canvases.
For timelines the benefit of horizontal scrolling is obvious.
Most of what you'll be doing is scrubbing that timeline backwards and forwards.
For everything from photo retouching, to illustration, to logo design, you're working with the canvas,
and you're spending a lot of time zoomed in on one area to focus on those details, moving
around as well as zooming out to get context and seeing how it’s coming together.
Unfortunately, since the generic optical mouse settled on its basic template in the early
2000s, the majority of actual innovation in mouse design has only focused on one group
of users: gamers.
And look, nothing against gaming.
If you want your mouse to have six RGB zones, knock yourself out!
The problem is that the needs of gamers and the needs of creatives, when it comes to mice,
are not the same and are frequently at odds.
For shooters, gamers want an ultra sensitive mouse that is as light as possible.
They want to whip across the screen from one target to the next, but for creatives like
designers, giving it an extremely light shell is actually gonna make it harder to make smooth
gestures.
For RPG and strategy games you get the macro mouse covered in extra buttons for shortcuts
to spell slots and items.
But those shortcut keys are not particularly useful in apps like Photoshop or After Effects.
Since you'd quickly run out of space to map the right hot keys for your specific workflow.
Just take copy and paste.
Adobe Illustrator doesn't have just a single pace function that in fact has six different
paste functions.
So a macro mouse doesn't really add much utility.
What creatives really need in a mouse is: high precision cursor control; great vertical
and horizontal scrolling; all day comfortable use; and a modern professional aesthetic.
For a basic checklist it's surprisingly difficult to achieve.
For many, the MX Master series from Logitech is the best mouse on the market.
They're designed for a full size adult hand, have a dedicated horizontal scroll wheel on
the side and can even charge without adopting the cockroach position.
Except for some inextricable reason, Logitech and their imitators decided that to distinguish
these as premium productivity mice, the scroll wheel would have to be made of knurled metal,
which certainly looks nice in a promo video, but doesn't make my top 10 list of surfaces
I wish to scrape my fingertips over on a daily basis.
True story.
I had to abandon my coveted MX Master because I've developed contact dermatitis on my index
and ring fingers, which as a designer is the equivalent of a sprinter getting a broken
pinky toe or a trumpeter getting a permanent cold sore.
Yes, it's a minor injury, but it's in a critical location.
But Linus you say, what about *insert alternative pointing device here*?
Well, in a nutshell, I've tried them and they just weren't for me.
Wacom drawing tablets are great for some, particularly people who do illustration, but
for me, it takes up way too much desk space and also becomes tiring to hold a stylist
for long periods of time.
Track pads, track balls and vertical mice were all too imprecise or awkward, for their
own reasons individually.
I really wanted the vertical mouse to be the answer.
Since that handshake position is much more comfortable for the wrist, but there's a reason
why we move on from holding crayons like this in preschool to writing with our palm face-down.
It's just more precise.
So since I gave up the MX Master I've been using another Logitech mouse as a temporary
placeholder, but it turns out there are literally no better options for sale.
My question is: why can't I buy a better mouse?
Especially in the US where consumer choice appears to be written into the constitution.
I mean, this entire grocery aisle is nothing but different flavours of boxed mac and cheese!
Why is there such a lack of market innovation?
So here are three proposed solutions.
First: Apple could create a magic mouse fit for the human hand.
Look, the reign of Jony Ive is over.
You can actually give customers form *and* function.
And while you're at it, you could put the charge port at the top of the mouse, like
the MX Master.
Look, it even works when it's being charged!
Speaking of which, Logitech’s MX master is very good, but it could be even better.
The current model is the third edition.
For the fourth, why not add some basic customisation?
At least give users some choice of material when it comes to the scroll wheel.
I'm sure that many people really *love* the metal rasp effect, but especially for those
of us with allergies or skin conditions and alternative would be really appreciated.
Lastly, all of this leaves me wondering: why there isn't such a thing as a custom built
mouse scene?
If you're unfamiliar with the custom mechanical keyboard scene, Answers in progress has a
great overview video.
But in a nutshell: for someone who spends the majority of their day at a keyboard, if
you are willing to spend upwards of a thousand dollars, you can build a keyboard of your
dreams.
You can make it clickety-clack exactly the way you like best, with the ideal heft and
a colour scheme that perfectly compliments your setup.
You can even have a small diorama hidden in your escape key!
The sky's the limit!
With mice, about 120 bucks is the limit.
The MX Master is the most expensive feature-rich, non-gaming mouse you can buy.
There is literally nothing better available.
The original was released (like the Apple mouse) in 2015.
And since then they've made a few tweaks to battery, sensor, and side scrolling… and
the competition have responded with virtually nothing.
So hackers, makers, 3d printing gurus!
Here is my ask: Could you spare a few table crumbs from the custom keyboard scene for
we, lowly mouse jockeys?
All we need to get started is a platform.
An open source PCB for plug and play sensor, switch and scroll wheel swapping.
And a shared platform would also allow the mouse shell to be 3D printed in a variety
of shapes and sizes to precisely fit your hand and the grip that you prefer.
Consider the possibilities, creatives and gamers alike would benefit.
And there was much rejoicing.
Look, I'd even learn to solder if it meant I could have some control over the design
of *the very thing* that helps me to design.
After all, whatever the tool of your trade, you're going to be spending more of your waking
hours with it in your hand than not.
And if that isn't worth investing in, I don't know what it is.
That's all I've got to say about mice, except: did you know that the first mainstream scroll
wheel was on the Intellimouse in 1996 from Microsoft?
I have a whole video about Microsoft's most important fonts, which you can watch straight
after this one.
Thanks for watching, and thank you to my fantastic supporters over on Patreon.
My name is Linus.
See you next time.