IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Photoshop's challenges with focus, pt. 2

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Three dominant themes in the discussion

  1. Valuable UX content – abstractspoon called out the post as “Useful read for all ux designers”.

  2. Confusing UI details provoke curiosity – voidUpdate pointed out a puzzling pixel: “What is that weird clump of pixels on the left of the bottom edge!?”.

  3. Feature removals and tool usability frustrate users – northernsausage expressed frustration with the new workflow: “I can't tell you how frustrating the select and mask tool is to actually use.”

🚀 Project Ideas

Generating project ideas…

UI Clarity Overlay for Photoshop

Summary

  • Makes hidden or cryptic UI elements (e.g., mystery checkboxes) visible with real‑time overlays and tooltips.
  • Lets users pinpoint and understand recent UI changes that break workflow.

Details| Key | Value |

|-----|-------| | Target Audience | Photoshop users frustrated by unexpected UI changes and hidden controls. | | Core Feature | Overlay highlighting of UI components plus explain‑why tooltip on hover. | | Tech Stack | Electron front‑end + Photoshop JSX/ExtendScript API for overlay injection. | | Difficulty | Medium | | Monetization | Revenue-ready: subscription $5/mo |

Notes

  • HN commenters would love instantly seeing what the “weird clump of pixels” actually is.
  • Sparks discussion about UI regression and offers a practical utility for daily designers.

Legacy UI Restorer for Photoshop#Summary

  • Provides a toggle to revert to the pre‑2023 UI layout, restoring missing “global colors” dropdown and before/after color bars.
  • Preserves modern features while letting users keep a familiar workflow.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Power users who rely on specific UI panels and have rolled back to older versions.
Core Feature Classic UI theme switcher that reinstates removed panels and restores before/after bars.
Tech Stack React web UI embedded via CEP panel + Photoshop scripting to patch UI state.
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: one‑time $30 license

Notes

  • Directly addresses the frustration of “can't tell you how frustrating the select and mask tool is” by restoring the old tool behavior.
  • Would generate buzz among users seeking stability without sacrificing the latest Photoshop engine.

Keyboard Workflow Enhancer for Photoshop

Summary

  • Adds missing focus/tab navigation and keyboard shortcuts for UI actions that were broken by recent updates.
  • Enables power users to navigate the interface entirely via keyboard.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Keyboard‑driven Photoshop professionals who depend on focus/tab workflows.
Core Feature Customizable keyboard remapping and focus tracing that restores lost shortcuts.
Tech Stack AutoHotkey (Windows) / Python (cross‑platform) + Photoshop AppleScript/JSX hooks.
Difficulty Low
Monetization Revenue-ready: subscription $3/mo

Notes

  • Addresses xg15’s concern about “missing focus/tab functionality” breaking workflows.
  • Highly discussable on HN as a lightweight, immediately useful utility for efficiency.

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