User interface designers of audio software seem to be doing the most interesting work around, even more adventerous than on the web. Take for example this emagic ES1 screen shot. It looks confusing at first because it’s unconventional, but (assuming you’re familiar with these functions from prior audio experience) you quickly understand how to operate everything – I can especially imagine grabbing these big blue arrows and adjusting them.

Knobs still don’t map well to mouse movement though. Interestingly enough in this example they use an arc instead of what is usually adjusted via a knob, to good effect. And somewhat ironically they use knobs for a mutually-exclusive set of discrete options, which could just as easily appear as radio buttons (which they use elsewhere in the interface). I suspect they favored the esthetics and visual balance of the design just a tad too much, but show so many interesting ideas here.

Steven Johnson’s Long Live Analog is an interesting look at the idea of modeling physical devices in on-screen interfaces for audio software.