AI Agent UI · Interaction System · Design Engineering
A menu bar component that restores awareness when multiple AI agents run in parallel — without interrupting focus.
The Gap
“When multiple AI agents run in parallel, developers lose awareness. The Session Indicator restores it — without interrupting focus.”
There was no peripheral signal that told you which sessions were thinking, which were stuck, and which were done — without making you stop and look. Every existing tool either required active attention or added visual noise you had to consciously ignore.
Three Decisions
The design is defined by three choices — each one a rejection of a more obvious alternative. Eight visual languages were explored before arriving at Pulse.
01
Borrow the grammar of hardware indicators
“Borrowed not invented.”
Ethernet LEDs, the macOS camera indicator, SD card status lights. Developers already read this vocabulary fluently. No legend required.
Rejected: Custom icon sets or text badges would require learning. Familiar patterns reduce the cognitive load to zero.
02
Motion carries state. Color carries exception.
“Motion = state. Color = exception.”
White shimmer handles 90% of the signal surface. Color only appears for states that need attention — amber, red, green.
Rejected: Using distinct colors for all five states makes the idle bar visually busy. The eye starts treating color as decoration, not signal.
03
Native menu bar, not a floating overlay
“Hardware and software share one language.”
Built in SwiftUI, placed where hardware status lives — alongside Wi-Fi and battery. The placement is load-bearing, not cosmetic.
Rejected: A floating HUD would have been easier to implement but breaks the peripheral reading model entirely.