v4 · Specimen 2026 · the plane and the mechanism
Components, operated.
Where v3 photographed objects at rest, v4 puts them in your hands. Toggles slip in and out of the plane. Knobs detent with mechanical certainty. Buttons depress and spring back. Coloured LEDs light only when a state is on. The system is no longer a still life — it is a precision instrument, and every motion indicates state.
The Mechanism
motion · LEDs · springv4 inherits the plane and the directional light from v3. What it adds is mechanical animation. Pressing a key depresses it. Throwing a toggle slides the knob across its track with a measured spring. Turning a dial advances through detents. Every motion is short, weighted, and indicative — never decorative.
Three easings carry the whole system. spring-out is the return — a key popping back up. spring-soft is the slide — a toggle moving across its track. press-in is the depression — fast, decisive, no overshoot.
LEDs are off (matte) or on (saturated + halo). They never throb or pulse. Left of each pair: off. Right: lit. The halo is a fixed two-pixel ring of the LED color at twenty-five percent opacity, plus a six-pixel diffuse glow.
| Event | Duration | Easing | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Button hover | 140 ms | spring-soft | Lift to e2, translateY(−1px) |
| Button press | 80 ms | press-in | Drop into inset, scale(.985) |
| Button release | 220 ms | spring-out | Pop back to resting |
| Toggle throw | 220 ms | spring-soft | Knob slides, LED fades in |
| Knob detent | 220 ms | spring-soft | Rotate, overshoot then settle |
| Segmented switch | 220 ms | spring-soft | Active depresses, prev rises |
| LED light up | 140 ms | ease-out | Halo and color appear |
| Focus | 120 ms | ease | Outline ring fades in |
Switches
.toggle · .slot-btnClick any toggle. The track is recessed into the plane; the knob rides above it. On the throw, the knob slides with a soft spring; the LED at the active end lights up with a halo. Off-state is matte. The whole gesture takes 220 milliseconds.
Off: flush with the plane, recessed (inset). On: extruded above the plane (e2) with the LED lit. The button itself rises a millimetre when activated. Click to toggle. Used for two-state mode keys — link, lock, auto, mute.
Knobs & Dials
.knob · rotary detentEach knob is a milled puck above the plane. The triangular notch indicates position; the central dot is the printed reference. Click anywhere on the knob to advance one detent. The rotation springs with a small overshoot and settles. The label under the knob highlights the active position in accent.
Deep Buttons & Segments
.btn-deep · .segmented-deepPress and hold. The button drops two pixels into the plane, scales fractionally smaller, and gains a deep inset shadow — the key is mechanically depressed. On release it springs back to e2 with the spring-out curve. The press is fast (80 ms); the return is patient (220 ms).
The container is recessed; inactive segments rest at e1; the active segment is pressed into the well with the inset-cut. Each segment carries its own LED, only the active one is lit. Click another segment — the previous one rises and the new one presses in. The colored dot moves with the active state.
Faders
.fader · scale controlThe track is a recessed groove; the thumb is a small puck above it. Click or drag along the track to set the value; the fill follows in accent. The floating value label rides above the thumb. Useful for continuous scale controls — area, quantity, detail.
Inherited Primitives
all of v3, refined motionThe press is more decisive in v4: scale(.985), translateY(1px), instant 80 ms. Release pops back with spring-out. The hover lift remains.
The matte .dot remains for status badges in lists, tables, and tags — the printed mark. The new .led primitive is reserved for live mechanism state.
Patterns
a room, operatedA room is no longer a record on a page — it is a control panel. Each setting is a mechanism with mechanical state: a toggle for boolean fields, a segmented for enums, a fader for scalars, a slot button for the link to Revit. Saving and syncing are deep buttons that depress.
| Room | Code | NSF | Qty | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination Room — Standard | EXAM-103 | 168 | 12 | Approved | |
| Cardiac Cath Procedure Room | CATH-201 | 650 | 2 | In review | |
| Echocardiography Room | ECHO-205 | 220 | 4 | Blocked | |
| Patient Consultation Room | CONS-104 | 120 | 6 | Draft |
Before · After
a setting toggleGradient pill, emoji, decorative hover-lift. Reading the button does not tell you whether sync is on or off.
A switch. The knob is on the right; the LED is lit. State is legible from across the room.