Blog | Crank Software

8 minute read

Embedded Devices and HMI Trends to Look Out For in 2025

Let’s talk about how embedded systems – those behind-the-scenes heroes in everything from your smartwatch to your car – are changing the way we intera...

2 minute read

Unveiling the Future of Embedded UIs: Meet Crank Experts at Embedded World North America 2024

Get ready for an exhilarating journey into the world of embedded systems as Crank gears up to make its mark at Embedded World North America 2024. From...

2 minute read

UI Design in Figma - How to Import Figma Design Files into Storyboard

In today’s competitive market, user experience (UX) has become a crucial component of any successful product, regardless of the industry it serves. En...

2 minute read

Raspberry Pi 5: The Ultimate Choice for Prototyping Products and Crafting Exceptional HMIs

Powered by a 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor running at 2.4GHz, the Raspberry Pi 5 is the newest addition to the Pi family. The new Raspberr...

3 minute read

Powering Next-Gen Renesas RA8D1 MCUs with Crank's GUI Expertise

Renesas Electronics recently launched their RA8 group of microcontrollers, offering unparalleled performance and versatility.

3 minute read

Crank's Showcase at Embedded World 2024: A Recap

With numerus innovations, insightful discussions, and fruitful collaborations, Embedded World 2024, one of the most anticipated events of the embedded...

3 minute read

Storyboard 8.1: Elevating User Experience with Innovative Features and Seamless Design Process

We are thrilled to announce that the latest version of Storyboard is out now!! With the new enhanced features, Storyboard 8.1 helps speed up the devel...

4 minute read

Storyboard Validator Perspective: 1

A Solution For Testing User Interfaces Developed Using Storyboard - Part 1 The user interface serves as the primary point of interaction between a dev...

4 minute read

Significance of Voice and Gesture Control in Embedded Products

In today's world, touchscreens are everywhere, be it our mobile phones, car dashboards, smart home appliances, or industrial automation; we rely on to...

4 minute read

Working on an EV Project? Know why Charging Stations matter the most?

People continue to use non-electric vehicles despite concerns over climate change. A recent report from JD Power shows that in March 2023, 21% of shop...

2 minute read

How testing your application's GUIs can go a long way in increasing product adoption?

Imagine having a state-of-the-art smart home automation system installed in your house, capable of seamlessly managing various aspects of your home li...

3 minute read

Unleash the potential of your GUI experiences with Storyboard 8.0

We are excited to introduce our most advanced version of the GUI development framework yet - Storyboard 8.0. It comes packed with new features and enh...

3 minute read

Highlights from Crank AMETEK booth at Embedded World 2023

Even though Embedded World 2023 ended last week, the conversations surrounding it are still going strong. As Mason Cooley once said, "An event is not ...

2 minute read

We're back at Embedded World 2023!!

The screens are all polished and the embedded GUI apps are running, as we prepare to welcome you to the Embedded World Germany 2023. Our team of embed...

4 minute read

Top Industrial GUI Trends for 2023

Before we get into GUI Industrial trends, it is important to know what exactly GUI is and how relevant it is in our lives. PCs, smartphones, washing m...

13 minute read

An analysis of Storyboard GUI performance on Microcontrollers (MCU)

Customers often ask us about Storyboard's performance on specific hardware. What is the maximum number of frames per second that Storyboard can achiev...

6 minute read

How Automotive HMIs are Transforming the In-vehicle Experience

The features we envisioned and desired in our cars are now a reality. As you get closer to the car, the car lights up to greet you; once you enter the...

6 minute read

Design intuitive and visually appealing UIs for smart home appliances

With the smart home/smart appliances market continually growing year-over-year, there are aspects that need fine-tuning and speculation over which dev...

4 minute read

Why are medical device UI designs crucial in today's world?

The medical device industry is growing at a rapid pace. It is among the world's top 10 most prominent sectors, predicted to grow from $495.46 billion ...

4 minute read

How UI/UX can significantly impact product (Smart Appliance) adoption

A good user interface can make or break a product. All companies that make great products understand how important it is to engage their customers to ...

3 minute read

Why you should include Hybrid Rendering in your next IoT or wearables project

If you haven’t heard the term hybrid rendering before, that’s because it’s pretty new. Broadly speaking, hybrid rendering generates graphics by using ...

3 minute read

Design distinctive GUIs for modern products using Storyboard 7.2

We are thrilled to announce that the latest version of Storyboard is out now!! With the new enhanced features, Storyboard 7.2 enables the development ...

1 minute read

Crank at Embedded World 2022

With the abundance of innovation in display & development technologies in the embedded community, Embedded World 2022 concluded successfully on 23...

2 minute read

Visit us at Embedded World 2022 and accelerate your GUI development

Embedded World – the embedded community's global platform is just a few days away, featuring three days of vendor exhibitions & speaking sessions....

4 minute read

Developing Your Next Thread Based Smart Home IoT Device 

When it comes to creating a smart home, chances are you already know about Zigbee and Z-wave, but do you know about "Thread"? 

3 minute read

5 tips for starting your first embedded GUI

In this post, embedded systems expert Jacob Beningo offers tips to help developers get started with their first embedded GUI development project, from...

4 minute read

Top 5 industrial UX trends for 2022

From modernization to no-code tools and data visualization, here are our top trends for industrial UX development in 2022.

4 minute read

Anatomy of an MCU-based wearables development platform

A consumer electronics revolution is brewing. Incumbent manufacturers in the high-growth, high-potential wearables market are seeing sales slip away t...

4 minute read

5 tips for optimizing GUIs in industrial applications

In this guest post, embedded systems expert Jacob Beningo offers techniques in graphics, fonts, and memory to get better performance out of resource-c...

3 minute read

How to continue embedded GUI development despite the silicon shortage

Up and down the tech stack, embedded systems manufacturers have one problem in common: there aren’t enough semiconductors to satisfy demand. Whether b...

3 minute read

Optimizing GUI development for MCUs — Storyboard 7.1 released

With a small footprint and low-power needs, microcontrollers (MCUs) are fast becoming the preferred platform of choice for organizations developing em...

4 minute read

Top tips for developing wearable GUIs on microcontrollers

Build better wearable GUIs on MCU devices by learning the impacts of memory, graphics and battery life on UX design and software development decisions...

3 minute read

Human-machine interface techniques for industrial automation

The importance and benefits of an effective HMI for industrial automation applications.

3 minute read

Why our customers win: a chat with Crank's professional services team

Our application developers discuss their favorite professional services projects and the technical challenges they've solved.

5 minute read

5 skills every embedded GUI developer needs

In this guest post, embedded systems expert Jacob Beningo explains that to deliver successful embedded GUI products, developers must have an understan...

2 minute read

What is industrial user experience and why does it matter?

Understand how user experience applies to industrial environments where safety and clarity are top priorities.

3 minute read

Why modern medical device UX deserves a booster shot

The top reasons why effective medical device UX is critical for patient outcomes, safety, and market success.

4 minute read

The four dangers of industrial GUI design and how to avoid them

How to apply common GUI design guidelines to the industrial environment, from safety to user training.

4 minute read

7 industrial GUI development trends

From building emotional connections and neumorphism to cross-platform scalability, here are the top industrial GUI trends for 2021.

3 minute read

4 fundamental lessons for smartwatch UX development

Consider animations, responsiveness, convenience, and stringent testing to boost the effectiveness of your smartwatch UX development.

2 minute read

Rapid automotive HMI development for the future of transportation

How Aptera partnered with Crank’s Professional Services to get their solar-powered vehicle to market in less than a year

3 minute read

How to create and test smartwatch apps for low-power microcontrollers

Bring UX, architecture, and resource optimization to the forefront when building and validating your applications

2 minute read

How do embedded GUI designers and developers work together?

To build the best user experience, adopt parallel workflows that eliminate traditional obstacles between design and development.

3 minute read

Comparing the top embedded GUI solutions

To achieve the best user experience and platform performance, look for the designer-developer workflow system, supported hardware and OS targets, and ...

4 minute read

How important is 60 frames per second for embedded GUI development?

There are a multitude of factors that make 60 FPS an incomplete goal. It’s not just about an arbitrary number, it’s about managing CPU workloads to ac...

1 minute read

5 tips to improve embedded UX

How do graphics, memory usage, and power consumption affect the creation of vivid and feature-rich user experiences (UX) for IoT devices? Creating the...

3 minute read

Top 5 embedded UI/UX trends of 2021, according to industry experts | Crank Software

In today’s digital world where information is aplenty and attention spans are limited, companies are constantly looking for new ways to engage with co...

4 minute read

What is the future of wearable app development?

Hint: It’s not watchOS or Wear OS There’s a wearable war in our future and it won’t be the most powerful that wins. Alongside explosive growth in the ...

5 minute read

Usability meets safety: How to improve medical user interface design

In 1990, the FDA published a report, Device Recalls: A Study of Quality Problems, that revealed 44 percent of medical device recalls were due to desig...

2 minute read

Semiconductor shortage: How to choose the correct hardware for embedded GUI apps

When building an embedded system there are many choices you will face when deciding the correct GUI hardware and software combinations to best get you...

5 minute read

Software best practices for wearable UX development

Smartphones changed the way we interact with technology, making smart technology commonplace in everything from Fitbits to freezers. More recently, a ...

1 minute read

Accelerating growth & potential: AMETEK acquires Crank Software

Growth is great! We're thrilled to let you know about our recent acquisition by AMETEK (NYSE: AME) .

2 minute read

What is gesture-based UI?

Gesture-based UI refers to using specific physical gestures in order to operate an interface. Take your smartphone for instance. You can already inter...

1 minute read

STM32 GUI builder options for MCUs and MPUs

Can teams working with microcontrollers (MCU) and microprocessors (MPU) from STMicroelectronics find ways to save resources and optimize workflows? Wh...

2 minute read

Storyboard 7.0 now available: New features for sophisticated UX on low-power devices

If you’re developing, testing, or optimizing embedded products today then you know that customer success starts with an amazing user experience. UX th...

6 minute read

Creating sophisticated GUIs for microcontrollers using NXP MCUXpresso

Today’s IoT and industrial device markets are changing the way we build graphical user interfaces (GUI). As users demand richer and more featured-pack...

1 minute read

Tips for importing Photoshop embedded GUI design files into Crank Storyboard

2 minute read

Improving development efficiency with the Storyboard embedded GUI framework

Most embedded systems companies invest heavily in software development, and spend a lot of time on optimizing their productivity. While software leade...

4 minute read

Does Storyboard support Sketch?

Crank Storyboard is purpose-built to remove barriers between developers and designers working together on embedded GUI products. While Adobe Photoshop...

3 minute read

NXP speaks: Wearable UX development in 2021

The technology of the future is getting closer. Not only are we getting a peek at what’s possible during this week’s virtual CES 2021, we’re also seei...

4 minute read

5 top embedded GUI trends for 2021

We all know the old adage that user experience (UX) is often best when it goes unnoticed. Embedded systems UX, however, has traditionally had a somewh...

2 minute read

Enabling touchless gestures with Ultraleap TouchFree

We're pleased to present this guest blog by Charlie Alexander, Director of Product Strategy at Ultraleap.

3 minute read

Aptera Motors: How to Build an Automotive GUI In Less Than a Year

Last week marked the official launch of the Aptera Motors solar electric vehicle (sEV). Not only is the Aptera the first electric vehicle with up to a...

3 minute read

What to look for when choosing an embedded GUI builder

When choosing an embedded GUI builder for your device, there are several factors that should be considered to ensure a seamless design and development...

15 minute read

Embedded GUI Design and Safety Considerations for Medical Devices

It’s no surprise that the view inside the medical industry is at a time of unprecedented change, with new device and data requirements reshaping funct...

6 minute read

Preparing your embedded Linux GUI application for deployment

When building an embedded Linux GUI application using Crank Storyboard, here are the configuration and environmental considerations to take into accou...

3 minute read

How to Avoid the Perils of Bad Medical User Interface Design

It may seem obvious that usability should be a top priority for medical devices. But, unfortunately, devices with poor graphical user interfaces (GUI)...

3 minute read

Why Touchless Gestures Should Matter to Embedded GUI Development Teams

Are your development and design teams ready to meet the shift in consumer demand towards touchless GUIs? While there will always be a market for touch...

10 minute read

The Top Characteristics of Well-Designed UI Testing for Embedded Products

Thomas Fletcher, Co-Founder and lead Storyboard product guy, walks through the ins and outs of embedded GUI testing in our Embedded GUI Expert Talks w...

7 minute read

"Hello World" for Embedded GUI and UX Designers: Storyboard UX Design Best Practices (Part 2)

Working in the embedded development space as a GUI designer is definitely different than your typical GUI and UX development role. Understanding that ...

4 minute read

Using artificial intelligence to improve the user experience of your embedded GUI

Many people are building embedded devices that increasingly incorporate some measure of artificial intelligence (AI) into their products. An area of p...

9 minute read

The 5 Steps of an Effective UX Design Process for Embedded Graphics (Part 1)

It's common for one to be confused about the difference between UI and UX design. User experience design is really about the holistic process used to ...

19 minute read

Creating the embedded GUIs within IoT devices of tomorrow with NXP & Crank

What the future of connected, IoT smart devices looks like for embedded systems built with NXP processors and Storyboard GUI development tools. Rapidl...

4 minute read

How to amp up your embedded system with an IOT cloud connection

Let’s say you’re building a smart home appliance. Or a connected health vital-sign monitor. Or an IoT factory-control panel. Or a next generation car....

4 minute read

The Future of Touchless Public Touchscreens and Embedded GUIs

It’s clear that COVID-19 has people rethinking long established cultural habits, such as shaking hands and standing close to others. It is also reshap...

2 minute read

Extending the Life of Your Embedded GUI

Ask any embedded GUI developer or designer about re-building your product’s user interface, and you’ll probably be met with groans. Creating user inte...

16 minute read

A Proven Framework: Maintaining a Responsive Embedded GUI with UI Task Prioritization

Thomas Fletcher, Co-Founder and lead Storyboard product guy, talks UI task prioritization in our Embedded GUI Expert Talks with Crank Software. By wat...

14 minute read

How to use glue logic to connect your data with UI elements within an embedded GUI

Thomas Fletcher, Co-Founder and VP of R&D and lead Storyboard product guy, talks glue logic, and how glue logic is a connective piece that allows ...

1 minute read

We're an Ottawa Top Employer (according to our employees) again!

When it comes to attracting Crankonauts, we know that having a positive company culture has been invaluable in establishing our reputation, and our ab...

4 minute read

How to design an embedded GUI for future migration between MCU & MPU

When designing an embedded system with an MCU, one of the hardest tasks for an engineering team is deciding on the type of “brains” their new electron...

13 minute read

Optimizing Image Graphic Memory in Embedded GUIs (part 2)

Thomas Fletcher, Co-Founder and VP of R&D, talks on the specific use case of building rich UIs populated with images and graphics and how you can ...

7 minute read

What font types should you use in your embedded GUI project?

Fonts are a key component of embedded GUI development and we see a lot of confusion when it comes to understanding them. What's the difference between...

4 minute read

Tips for embedded GUI developers working from home

If you had have asked me (pre-Covid), what a typical day of an embedded user interface (UI) developer looked like, I would have answered with somethin...

4 minute read

Getting Started with Storyboard: Tips for Your Next Embedded GUI Development Project

Who says that developing a compelling, user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) for your next touchscreen device has to be complicated? At Crank S...

1 minute read

Trends in industrial embedded displays - an interview with Bob O'Brien from DSCC

At Embedded World 2020, we were fortunate to cross paths with Bob O'Brien, co-Founder and President of Display Supply Chain Consultants, a small consu...

4 minute read

A revolution in embedded user interfaces. An interview with EE Journal

We're fans over here at Crank of the Electronic Engineering Journal (EE Journal) so we jumped at the chance to be interviewed by Amelia Dalton on her ...

3 minute read

The rise of voice activation and what it means for embedded user interfaces

Voice recognition technology continues to grow in both capacity and popularity. The original technology was rather primitive – you may remember strugg...

11 minute read

Memory Optimization Considerations for Embedded GUIs (part 1)

Understanding and accounting for the different memory requirements of your embedded graphics application is critical. Your choice of system-level memo...

10 minute read

How remote teams successfully design and develop embedded GUIs

Embedded systems and UI development can be complicated. Factor in social distancing and product teams being forced to continue development remotely, a...

11 minute read

What Are The Differences Between MCUs and MPUs for Embedded Graphics? MCUs and MPUs Explained.

There are fundamental differences in developing embedded UI applications for MCUs and MPUs. But as MCU performance and functionality continue to impro...

2 minute read

Expert Interview Series: Trends in Embedded UIs with Sebastian Ullherr

Interview #2 The Crank Software team met up with Sebastian Ullherr, Managing Partner of interfacewerk, at Embedded World 2020 to chat about the trends...

2 minute read

Expert Interview Series: Trends in Embedded UIs with Karlheinz Blankenbach

Interview #1 The Crank Software team met up with Karlheinz Blankenbach, Electronics Displays Conference chair and professor, at Embedded World 2020 to...

2 minute read

A Message From Our President: COVID-19 Update

My thoughts are with you and your loved ones during these uncertain times, and like so many, it’s tough to hear updates about the impacts COVID-19 is ...

3 minute read

The challenge of realizing great UI experiences on embedded devices.

A rich UI prototype can be an amazing thing. It can bring an existing product back to life and give it a competitive advantage, or it can be so transf...

3 minute read

Focus on your user experience: Testing and validation for your embedded UI performance just got faster.

We're so excited to announce our latest release of Storyboard. With a focus on making UI design and development easier for our customers worldwide, we...

3 minute read

Partner Feature: Unleashing a world of smart possibilities with iWave, Crank Software & the NXP i.MX8 series.

Thanks to Lavanya Markandachari at Crank Partner, iWave Systems, for this guest post. Crank Software and iWave Systems partnered up to support rich gr...

2 minute read

Rich graphics development for touch screen products with μC3 & Storyboard in your tech stack.

Thanks to our partner Satoshi Sasaki , General Manager at Crank Partner, uQuest, for this guest post. Crank Software’s UI development software now sup...

2 minute read

Winning Worldwide: Crank Software Named Most Innovative at Embedded World 2020.

Updated on March 5, 2020. The Crank team hopped on a plane and left the cold Canadian winter behind heading to our biggest industry event of the year ...

2 minute read

Showing off next-gen embedded UIs at Embedded World 2020.

The biggest embedded event of the year. The team at Crank is busy preparing for our biggest event of the year, Embedded World. From the latest trends ...

1 minute read

On-Demand Webinar with NXP: Graphics for IoT Devices with the i.MX 8Nano.

3 minute read

How to create brilliant embedded UIs without sacrificing battery life.

Battery life is one of the most important features of a mobile device. When your mobile device’s time between charges is four days versus four hours, ...

3 minute read

Celebrating Innovation: Crank Software Named 2019 Company of the Year at the #OttBOBs.

Innovation and technology have radically changed the way we work and live. And we love being at the center of it. Literally. Crank Software’s HQ is lo...

3 minute read

What you need to know when considering squeezing into a microcontroller to build an embedded GUI

If you’ve been following our blog or have downloaded our eBook around best practices for embedded UI development on microcontrollers (MCUs) to micropr...

5 minute read

Crank GUI services: Why Vorwerk & other billion dollar brands work with us

GUI services help your product win market share, by supporting your team throughout the development lifecycle, from UX design and prototyping to devel...

3 minute read

Is the free TouchGFX STM32 GUI builder right for your next embedded project?

If you’re using an STM32 microcontroller, you may have noticed that STMicroelectronics now bundles in free graphics software from TouchGFX as part of ...

2 minute read

Don't get lost in translation, Storyboard's latest update makes it easy to internationalize your embedded UI.

We're excited to announce our latest release of Storyboard. As a UX and customer-focused software company, we make a point to focus on regular, smalle...

3 minute read

The challenge of code reuse - and what you can do about it when building GUIs

Systematically developing high-quality reusable software components and frameworks has traditionally been a tall order. Many developers successfully r...

1 minute read

Webinar with Toradex: Intro to creating rich UIs with Storyboard on NXP i.MX 8 with Torizon.

3 minute read

Why consider a microcontroller for your most profitable embedded product release yet.

When it comes to the buying patterns of North American consumers, the market is changing. It used to be that you could make one dishwasher, one toaste...

3 minute read

The 3 hottest embedded UI trends to see at Smart Kitchen Summit 2019.

The kitchen is becoming one of the tech scene’s fastest growing spaces. It makes sense: the kitchen is the center of the home – where we nourish ourse...

2 minute read

How to shift your product market to the high-margin, high-growth segment.

For many years, product success was based on mass marketing, mass production, and massive retailers. But the world has changed. More and more people a...

1 minute read

How we resolved a coffee conundrum with a Storyboard UI

3 minute read

Elevating the role of the embedded UI designer

You’ve heard us talking about design in the embedded realm before, and if you know anything about the team at Crank Software, you know that this is so...

2 minute read

How to build your next smartwatch UIs - without killing your battery.

NXP's i.MX 7ULP and Crank Storyboard UIs – a winning combination for 3D graphics processing on small battery-operated devices. When I went looking for...

2 minute read

Develop lean and high-performance embedded UIs for MCU platforms with Storyboard Lite

Don't carry more than you need. It's a rule that applies to many things. I once bought my daughter one of those gigantic packages of crayons that cont...

2 minute read

See how your dynamic screen content will behave at runtime while you design

When you run an embedded application, screens are dynamic and change in response to data and animations. However, you can't see those dynamics during ...

2 minute read

Crank Software releases Storyboard 6.0 to help deliver impressive customer experiences on smaller embedded devices

If you're creating applications for MCU platforms and constantly challenged to reduce your costs without compromising performance, then we know you’re...

2 minute read

The making of a rebrand: the evolution of Crank Software

If you visited our website over the past month, you might have noticed that we look a bit different. Actually, we look a lot different. Like, burn the...

2 minute read

Crank Software launches a new brand identity to power up UIs for embedded device manufacturers

Ottawa, Canada - Monday, May 20, 2019 - Crank Software, an innovator in embedded user interface (UI) software and solutions, announced today the launc...

1 minute read

Webinar: How to design rich UIs on resource-constrained platforms (feat. NXP i.MX RT1060)

NXP and Crank Software are teaming up again for the second webinar in our 2-part series on embedded UI development for the industry's first crossover ...

2 minute read

The need for screen: Innovation in embedded GUI development

Back in 2000 when LG introduced the world’s first Internet-enabled fridge, it came with an electronic pen, data memo, video messaging, and scheduler, ...

1 minute read

Webinar: How to optimize your embedded UI for mass production

In the graphics world, much attention is always paid to the biggest and fastest Microprocessor (MPU) and Graphics Processor (GPU), but this is not alw...

0 minute read

Video: ST and Crank Software partner for the STM32MP1

Crank was honored to showcase Storyboard's capabilities for STM32 platforms in the ST booth at Embedded World in Germany. For those of you who weren't...

1 minute read

Fast embedded GUI development for the STM32MP1 Microprocessor

Crank is excited about the recent release of the STM32MP1 microprocessor. The STM32MP1 series aligns with Crank's impressive scalability which gives S...

2 minute read

See the latest in embedded GUI design at Embedded World

With the abundance of innovative technologies for embedded product development on display, Embedded World is one of our favorite events of the year, a...

1 minute read

Crank Software embedded GUI development at CES

With the holiday season now in our rearview mirror, it's time for what many technology lovers consider the most wonderful time of the year. That's rig...

2 minute read

Reimagining embedded UI design at the smart kitchen summit

***I asked Nick Deeble, our enterprising sales manager, to pass along his thoughts and musings regarding his recent attendance at the Smart Kitchen Su...

1 minute read

Visit Crank Software at the American Medical Device Summit

Delivering high-quality design and development is important for any application, but it is especially critical when creating applications for speciali...

1 minute read

Baking up hot embedded UIs at the Smart Kitchen Summit

The annual Smart Kitchen Summit (SKS) is a must-attend event for those interested in the innovations within the food technology, cooking, and kitchen ...

1 minute read

Developing beautiful embedded UI graphics for the NXP i.MX RT1060

*** This post was written in collaboration with Garry, our delightful UK Field Application Engineer. Garry visited the new Crank headquarters this wee...

1 minute read

Developing rich embedded GUIs for Boundary Devices Nitrogen platforms

Boundary Devices has an array of Single Board Computers (SBC) that leverage NXP i.MX applications processors for developing rich, high-performance emb...

1 minute read

Developing brilliant embedded UIs for the i.MX RT1050

Late last year, NXP announced the i.MX RT Series, a crossover processor that is optimized for low power and high performance. Built for efficiency, co...

1 minute read

Crank Software is moving!

It was inevitable. Eventually, just about every successful company has to take the leap and uproot and move its office. For a growing company like our...

2 minute read

The latest in embedded GUI development with Storyboard 5.3

Here at Crank, we update and release Storyboard on a regular cadence. We generally have a major feature release followed by a maintenance/refinement r...

1 minute read

Visit us at NXP Connects Santa Clara

Crank Software is proud to be a sponsor at NXP Connects Santa Clara, June 13-14. With a wide range of technical sessions, hands-on labs, and networkin...

0 minute read

Creating innovative user experiences for VxWorks platforms

Powering billions of intelligent products, Wind River VxWorks has long been a trusted real-time operating system (RTOS) for deploying embedded product...

2 minute read

Why bad UI design happens to good people

Today's guest blog post is by one of our UI designers, Ahren. Ahren recently experienced a world of frustration trying to use a self-checkout kiosk. W...

0 minute read

Tutorial : Defining and Testing UI Communication

1 minute read

Crank Software earns John Deere Supplier Innovation award

2 minute read

Embrace design change with UI resizing and rebranding

The following is a post from Fancy Dan, one of our creative and talented in-house designers. Dan uses Storyboard Suite on a daily basis to create awes...

1 minute read

Innovation in HMI at Embedded World

2 minute read

Visit Crank Software at Embedded World 2018

1 minute read

Kickstart embedded UI development with Photoshop artboards

The following is a post from Fancy Dan, one of our creative and talented in-house designers. Dan uses Storyboard Suite on a daily basis to create awes...

1 minute read

On-demand webinar: Creating stunning UIs for MCUs

1 minute read

Get started with embedded UI development

1 minute read

Developing embedded applications for uClinux platforms

1 minute read

Meet Crank Software at the Embedded Systems Conference

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Crank Storyboard applications on the NXP i.MX RT 1050

2 minute read

Creating a medical HMI with Storyboard

The following is a post from Nik, our awesomely bearded and multi-talented Field Application Engineer. Nik recently attended the Microchip MASTERs eve...

2 minute read

Storyboard accelerates UI performance on the Renesas RZ/A1

1 minute read

Try it now! Storyboard demo image for the Renesas RZA1

2 minute read

Build better embedded UIs. Meet the new Storyboard 5.1.

1 minute read

See us at Microchip MASTERs in Phoenix

1 minute read

Try it now! Storyboard demo image for Microchip SAMA5D4

1 minute read

Try it now: BeagleBone Black demo image

5 minute read

The future of UI design for embedded systems

3 minute read

The perks of UI design and development in Storyboard

The following is a post from Vanessa, one of our multi-talented and insanely busy in-house Storyboard application developers. Vanessa uses Storyboard ...

2 minute read

Supporting embedded GUI scalability: From MCU to 3D MPU

We are often asked the question, “what platforms do you support?” or variations on the same that include operating systems, GPUs, rendering technologi...

1 minute read

Thanks NXPconnects!

1 minute read

Thanks TU Detroit!

At any given moment last week, the more than 3000 attendees at TU Detroit were talking about autonomous vehicles, safety, and cybersecurity, while in ...

1 minute read

See us at NXP FTF Connects in San Jose

1 minute read

Visit us at TU-Automotive Detroit next week

TU-Automotive Detroit is only a week away (June 7-8, in Novi, MI), and we're busy finalizing, flashing, and packing some really cool demos for you to ...

1 minute read

Webinar: A better way to build UIs with Embedded Artists

6 minute read

Crank Storyboard vs. Qt: Which software is better for embedded GUI design and development? PART 2

5 minute read

5 capabilities that entrench embedded UI designers

The following is a post from Fancy Dan, one of our creative and talented in-house designers. Dan uses Storyboard Suite on a daily basis to create awes...

9 minute read

Crank Storyboard vs. Qt: Which software is better for embedded GUI design and development?

1 minute read

See scalable Storyboard UI demos on the Microchip SAMA5D2

1 minute read

Webinar: Bringing UIs to life with Crank + Toradex

1 minute read

Try it now: NXP i.MX 6ULL demo image

1 minute read

What's in the Crank Booth? Embedded World 2017

Crank Software Inc - Team at Embedded World 2017

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Advancing Embedded UI Development with Storyboard 5.0

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Meet the New Storyboard Suite at Embedded World 2017

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Crank Storyboard Automotive HMI design for NXP at CES

Whether it's commuting to and from work, chauffeuring the kids to hockey*, or running errands, we spend countless hours driving on a daily basis. Fort...

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See User Interface demos on your Hardware with Storyboard Demo Images

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Adding 3D to UIs: Importing FBX models into Storyboard

3D elements add movement, dimension, and life to embedded applications. Aesthetics aside, they also enhance user experience and improve findability of...

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Build GUIs your Customers Want to Touch

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Experience Storyboard GUI Demos at NXP FTF Tech Forum

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Crank Storyboard HMI Demos at Car HMI USA 2016

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HMI Design with Storyboard Suite for Renesas RZ/G Series

We create a lot of demo applications to show the scalability of embedded GUIs designed and developed with Storyboard Suite.

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Webinars: Storyboard Suite for Embedded GUI Development

We've always worked hard to deliver videos that showcase Storyboard Suite features, teach tips & tricks, and provide a more in-depth look at techn...

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Crank Software at Embedded World 2016 - Day 1

Hello from Nuremberg, Germany!

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Storyboard Suite embedded GUI demos at Embedded World

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Storyboard Suite HMI Round-up from CES 2016

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Storyboard Suite GUIs at CES 2016

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Using Storyboard IO to connect the Storyboard GUI to a Device

***Updated with new Storyboard IO feature video and tutorial below***

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Webinar: Better GUI Design with Storyboard Suite 4.x

***Now available On-Demand!***

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Supporting Collaborative GUI Design with Storyboard Suite

Embedded application projects usually involve a team of people, rather than a solitary jack-of-all-trades super designer* seeing an entire project thr...

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Free Storyboard Suite licenses for GUI Design for students

Here at Crank, we dream of a universe full of awesome application GUIs. Where students - brimming with innovative ideas and bursting with creativity -...

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Creating GUIs for the Connected Home with Storyboard Suite and Freescale

This past spring, Crank Software participated in a project with Freescale (and other fine Freescale partners) to deliver the ultimate connected home e...

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Storyboard Suite Embedded Application GUIs at FTF 2015

While we were at Freescale Technology 2015, we shared several photos of the various Storyboard Suite embedded application GUI demos. We also posted a ...

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Storyboard Suite 4.1. Built by GUI Designers-for GUI Designers

Earlier this year we announced the release of Storyboard Suite 4.0, giving embedded GUI design and development teams an easier and faster way to get t...

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From FTF 2015: Storyboard Suite IoT GUI Demos

Hello from Austin!

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Embedded GUI Demos and Sessions at FTF

FTF (Freescale Technology Forum) 2015 is next week in Austin, Texas, June 22-25, and we are gearing up for another awesome show. We will be busy this ...

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Storyboard for innovative home automation GUIs

Home automation provides a convenient way to control home appliances and systems. Making life easier for homeowners, automation and saves energy by pr...

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HMI demos and Storyboard Suite at TU-Automotive Detroit 2015

TU-Automotive Detroit is just around the corner, June 3-4 in Novi, Michigan, so we are getting the Storyboard Suite demos ready to hit the road. This ...

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GUI Design with Storyboard Suite for the Renesas RZ/A1

It's Demo Friday! Ok, that's probably not a thing but it is Friday and we've got a new demo for you. Today's demo further showcases the scalability of...

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Crank at Automotive Cockpit HMI USA 2015

It's nearly mid-May which means a couple of things:

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GUI Design is Rapid and Scalable with Crank Storyboard Suite

As we create multi-market demo applications here at Crank, we like to deploy them across multiple hardware platforms to fully test their look and feel...

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3 GUI Design Changes Affecting Process and End Product

GUI design is changing, both the process and the end product a customer interacts with on a device. This is in response to a changing market. Screens ...

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Crank GUI software is everywhere at Embedded World 2015

Day 2 kept us busy in the booth with a lot of people coming to check out the GUI software demos on our partner's hardware and Storyboard Suite demos.

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