Case study

One keyboard system for four consoles and 17 languages

My role: Lead Designer · specialised systems design
team: Four gaming platforms · controller constraints
disciplines: Systems design, Localization, Hardware constraints
Impact: Modular IME and alpha layouts, ready to extend to new touchpoints.

Text entry on a games console is the most constrained input problem I have worked on: no touch, no pointer, a directional pad, and scripts that do not fit a Latin grid.

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AnyLifeStyleR-Line

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Latin & live search

A 6-column alphabetical layout for controller focus and live search.

The challenge

Seventeen languages, four platforms, one controller. A single static layout could not hold Flick, Wubi, and Latin input.

Design approach

A configurable system for predictive/IME and alphabetical methods. One design language; modules swap with the input task.

The process

Discovery

Studied international keyboard standards and mobile-inspired methods such as Flick and Wubi.

Impact

consoles on one modular keyboard

languages, including IME and alphabetical layouts

A modular solution that satisfies technical constraints and cultural input behaviours — extendable to new platforms without redesigning from scratch.

Things I’d do differently today

Write when the structure is the problem.

Markets, constraints, and systems that no longer explain themselves.