PROJECT DESIGN NOTE
CINEMATIC DISPLAY DESIGN

The first generated display was "technically busy" but visually lame. The fix was
not simply more geometry. The fix was composition.

A convincing late-1960s/early-1970s spacecraft display needs layers:

PRIMARY OBJECT
The main thing being analyzed: orbit, wireframe craft, radar scope, trajectory.

REFERENCE GEOMETRY
Crosshairs, axes, grids, range rings, tick marks, horizon lines.

SECONDARY ANALYSIS
A waveform, mini plot, vector, error box, or state diagram supporting the main
object.

TELEMETRY
Small changing numeric values placed in a stable region.

MOTION WITH PURPOSE
The orbit advances. The sweep rotates. The vehicle descends. The solution
converges. Avoid movement whose only meaning is "something random happened."

COLOR DISCIPLINE
One primary color plus one or two accents usually looks more convincing than a
rainbow.

TIMING
Let the operator watch a display develop. Build the grid, acquire the target,
plot the solution, then move on.