Lighting and status
This is proposed physical-product guidance, not approved Thorbis rules. src/data/product-guidelines.ts is the canonical owner of wording, reasons, status, and sources; product-guidelines-why.ts is a derived compatibility export. This Markdown is generated, not independently maintained.
Light is a status, not a style. A Thorbis product is dark when it is idle. Each light means one thing, and color is never the only cue.
As few lights as there are states.
pd-light-few
Status: proposed.
Add a light only for a state the person must see without reading a screen: power, fault, charging, height. Off is a state. Do not add a light because the product looks empty.
Why: Every extra LED is a question; if the product is fine, it should look quiet.
Sources: PCMag, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), Mediaberry, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), MacBook Pro (opens in a new tab)
White for neutral status; semantic color for a state.
pd-light-white
Status: proposed.
Use white for a neutral status light. A semantic hue must name a documented state, use the existing status meaning, and include a second cue beyond color. Thorbis electric blue remains the only brand accent. No decorative RGB cycles, chase, or underglow on the core product.
Why: White reads as neutral on a dark body and keeps color free to mean a state; a light colored for looks teaches people to ignore color.
Sources: PCGamesN, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), Windows Central, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), MacBook Pro (opens in a new tab)
Color is not the only signal.
pd-light-meaning
Status: proposed.
Pair every light with a word, a number, or a position. MAGNUS Pro shows height as digits and uses arrow buttons, not color alone. Keep one written light table for the whole Thorbis hardware family, with each state and its non-color cue. Use the same meanings in every manual and product page.
Why: Some people cannot tell green from red, so a light that only changes color leaves them without the message.
Sources: PCMag, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), PCGamesN, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), TITAN Evo user manual (opens in a new tab), Teenage Engineering TP–7, recording indicators (opens in a new tab), SFMOMA, Jesper Kouthoofd on family color meanings (opens in a new tab), Nothing Headphone (1), LED status table (opens in a new tab), Nothing Ear (3), matching LED status table (opens in a new tab)
Indicators sit flush.
pd-light-flush
Status: proposed.
The control and its light are in the surface, not hanging under it. MAGNUS Pro puts the height panel in the front edge. A box bolted under a desk is what a knee hits.
Why: A control that sticks out is what a knee hits; flush is how the front edge stays a front edge.
Sources: Mediaberry, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), PCMag, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), PCGamesN, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab)
Idle hardware goes dark.
pd-light-dim
Status: proposed.
Lights dim or sleep when the product is idle. A standby switch that kills the backlight, as on MAGNUS Pro, is the right idea. A desk that glows all night is a night light.
Why: When idle hardware is dark, any light that comes on means something; a desk that glows all night teaches people to stop looking.
Sources: PCMag, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab), Mediaberry, MAGNUS Pro review (opens in a new tab)