Top all-time · #1705
Pushing Pixels
Personal blog · pushing-pixels.orgdesignprogramming
Pushing Pixels is a personal blog at pushing-pixels.org about design and programming. Since 2008, 41 different Hacker News readers have linked it 44 times, most often “About those vector icons”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-07, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (26) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link this blog for writing on fantasy user interfaces in film and TV, screen-graphics interviews, and why vector icons break down at small sizes. Its FUI resource is also shared.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 26 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- About those vector icons11 people · 11 mentions · first linked 2012-03-18
- Fantasy UI4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2020-12-24
- About those vector icons (2011)3 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2020-02-20
- The craft of screen graphics and movie user interfaces (2014)2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2026-02-09
- Cinematography of “Andor”2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-06-01
- /2007/11/07/and-the-longest-jre-class-name-is.html2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2012-11-11
What Hacker News says?
I think they cared a lot more about the cinematographic aspect and its connection to the story[0]. [0] https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2025/05/20/cinematography-of-...
Comment linking /2025/05/20/cinematography-of-andor-interview-with-christophe-nuyens.html
on “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros”Submitted Fantasy UI as a story · 461 points
HN discussionHer is my all-time favorite movie UI. It's more familiar and less futuristic than the others but felt like where we're headed. There's also just enough emphasis on skeuomorphism to make it feel warmer and more inviting than the flat designs prevalent in 2013. https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2018/04/05/screen-graphics-of...
Comment linking /2018/04/05/screen-graphics-of-her-interview-with-geoff-mcfetridge.html
on “Fantasy UI”Submitted Cinematography of “Andor” as a story · 444 points
HN discussionIt's in the carousel on that page, but here's an interview with Timothy Peel, who did those for The Expanse and also Mr. Robot. They talk about it a bit: https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2016/01/21/a-window-into-anot... I think they'd rather bring you into the world by showing the UI and interactions while also showing the actors. With a opaque device, we know they're using it, but we don't get to see any detail about…
Comment linking /2016/01/21/a-window-into-another-world-interview-with-timothy-peel.html
on “Fantasy UI”Submitted About those vector icons as a story · 284 points
HN discussionMore information [2007]: http://www.pushing-pixels.org/2007/11/07/and-the-longest-jre...
Comment linking /2007/11/07/and-the-longest-jre-class-name-is.html
on “InternalFrameInternalFrameTitlePaneInternalFrameTitlePaneMaximizeButtonPainter”Submitted About those vector icons (2011) as a story · 64 points
HN discussionVector icons tend to look horrible at small sizes. A post from a month ago: http://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vector-... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3720363
Comment linking /2011/11/04/about-those-vector-icons.html
on “Pixel-fitting – how antialiasing can ruin your logos and icons”Submitted Skia Shaders in Compose Desktop as a story · 38 points
HN discussionIndeed. The best icons are caricatures, designed to fit the resolution they are being displayed at. "About Those Vector Icons" is a good read that shows why "hinting" just isn't enough. https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vector...
Comment linking /2011/11/04/about-those-vector-icons.html
on “500 Byte Images: The Haiku Vector Icon Format (2016)”Submitted Party Of One: Surviving A Hobby Open-Source Project as a story · 6 points
HN discussionObligatory links: https://futureinterface.tumblr.com/ https://www.pushing-pixels.org/fui/ https://scifiinterfaces.com/
Comment linking /fui/
on “HUDS and GUIs: an inspiration resource site featuring Future User Interfaces”Submitted Radiance: Modern, elegant and fast Java Swing applications as a story · 4 points
HN discussionGotta mention https://www.pushing-pixels.org/fui/ then also as I love checking them out.
Comment linking /fui/
on “HUDS and GUIs: an inspiration resource site featuring Future User Interfaces”Submitted Pragmatic Futurism and Screen Graphics as a story · 2 points
HN discussionYou won't get away from tuning of some sort so it's not like vector images are a panacea. Fonts require "hints" to scale. http://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vector-...
Comment linking /2011/11/04/about-those-vector-icons.html
on “Are Designers Crazy?”Submitted Pushing Pixels as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThere was an article posted here 1 day ago that explored to great lengths why SVG for scalable icons sounds good in theory - but does not work well in practice. And why icon fonts are the way to go for now. See here: http://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vector-... Key point: SVG icons don't actually scale that well because SVG lacks hinting.
Comment linking /2011/11/04/about-those-vector-icons.html
on “Icon Fonts are Awesome”Submitted The craft of screen graphics and movie user interfaces (2014) as a story · 1 points
HN discussionMight not be so easy. http://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vector-...
Comment linking /2011/11/04/about-those-vector-icons.html
on “The Apps are Too Damn Big”Submitted Drawing Text on a Path in Compose Desktop with Skia as a story · 1 points
HN discussionPixel art relies on specific pixels being colored or defined in ways that a vectorized representation would never render to. In other words, it often looks bad, especially at lower resolutions (which is the whole esthetic of pixel art). This article has some good examples of vector icons not holding up well compared to their "hand crafted" pixel counterparts https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vect…
Comment linking /2011/11/04/about-those-vector-icons.html
on “Show HN: I made a pixel art editor for Windows desktop”Submitted Pay to enjoy as a story · 1 points
HN discussionThe fun UIs that come out of Hollywood are also known as "FUI", aka Fantasy (or Fictional) UIs. https://www.pushing-pixels.org/fui/ Jurassic Park was using IRIX: https://jurassicsystems.com/
Comment linking /fui/
on “MapSCII – A Braille and ASCII world map renderer for the console”Submitted A window into another world – interview with Timothy Peel as a story · 1 points
HN discussionOne of my favorite articles on this topic, "About those vector icons", goes into this issue and many more flaws in much more detail. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with vector icons, but it's not all that's needed for a one-size-fits-all solution. https://www.pushing-pixels.org/2011/11/04/about-those-vector...
Comment linking /2011/11/04/about-those-vector-icons.html
on “500 Byte Images: The Haiku Vector Icon Format (2016)”Submitted Code Reviews as a story · 1 points
HN discussionIndeed, this is a poor example specifically because House of Cards makes heavy use of digital backlot. > Steve: We have a visual effects supervisor on the show who’s been working with Fincher for around 20 years. Let’s say we’re shooting on stage, and out the window we want to see the Washington monument, we’ll shoot green screen out of the set window. Then we’ll coordinate with the VFX department, telling them that…
Comment linking /2013/12/29/production-design-of-house-of-cards-interview-with-steve-arnold.html
on “America has never had so much TV, and even Hollywood is overwhelmed”Submitted The craft of screen graphics and movie user interfaces as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
