Second in an occasional series, featuring the excellent method the 'Grand Theft Auto' games have for signalling your next mission encounter – a giant, glowing pink arrow oscillating above the target. Perfectly visible at speed, driving through dense urban environments, sometimes under fire and/or listening to Foreigner. Remarkably eye-catching. (Arguably, this should be filed under 'information architecture classics', but who cares.)

Vicecityarrow2

Vicecityarrow1

Elsewhere, on Interaction Design Classics:
#1: The 'progress bar' on the Voice-O-Graph in 'Badlands'
#2: The big pink arrow from 'Grand Theft Auto'
#3: The 'A Bit More' button on the Breville Professional 800 Collection 4-slice Toaster
#4: The Melnikov House intercom system

6 Responses

  1. One can’t help feeling that in about 5 years we’ll be wearing those sunglasses that superimpose our personal objectives over the view of our city space. Imagine: a big pink arrow showing you where you should be for your next meeting đŸ˜‰

  2. Cheers Nick and Chris. Yeah I think you’re right, Nick. The pink goes with the neon haze Miami Vice setting of Vice City. Makes it even better, to my mind đŸ™‚
    I also note this recent story about more giant flashing arrows from video games – in this case Need for Speed Underground 2 – making it into reality, though not quite in the way you describe, Chris.

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