Pro Graphic Designers chime-in on iOS 7

Yr Blues · Jun 10, 2013

firstly, i love the parallax layers and animated weather stuff.

I was hoping for something more flat and utilitarian. Ive is a god-tier hardware designer, but he lacks consistency and even minimalism in the GUI department.

The icons still have lighting casted on them from an angle. iTunes and the AppStore have circles around the icons, but the other icons don't have them. There's no consistency. Even the green in the chat icon doesn't mirror the blue color the messaging service now uses. Why is gamecenter a bunch of balloons? Why is the cameraroll a bunch of colored petal things? Why are some icons monochromatic while others are full color? why do the tickets still have paper texture? aren't we done with skeuomorphism?

Does anyone even own a phone that looks like the phone icon? Or a camera that looks like the camera icon? It's ironic, 'cos the iphone is the camera of the last many years.

As much as I hate Windows' Metro GUI, I think it's much more minimalistic. Metro is horribly executed, but feels more Ive than IOS 7

wongulous · Jun 10, 2013

I noticed different sized circles in Phone.

It's just a beta. These things will change as time goes on. This is the most "beta" beta release of iOS, and really the first one that's a true experimental beta. Ive himself said that this was just the beginning.

Metro is rather boring though, not everything fits into a box right. It's also had god knows how many years to be refined and rejected and refined, whereas iOS 7 is only just getting unwrapped.

Yr Blues · Jun 10, 2013

wongulous said:
I noticed different sized circles in Phone.

It's just a beta. These things will change as time goes on. This is the most "beta" beta release of iOS, and really the first one that's a true experimental beta. Ive himself said that this was just the beginning.

Metro is rather boring though, not everything fits into a box right. It's also had god knows how many years to be refined and rejected and refined, whereas iOS 7 is only just getting unwrapped.

I agree Metro is boring. It needs dynamic lighting (instead of photoshopped lighting that ios still uses) and parallax layers like iOS7.

But I'm a huge nerd when it comes to design and just see all of the flaws and inconsistencies in iOS7. It's not a huge step forward that I would've liked.

lupinglade · Jun 10, 2013

These icons have got to be temporary, the same with most of the UI graphics -- can't be serious...

ThisIsNotMe · Jun 10, 2013

Feels 1/2 finished - which it probably is.
The "fit and feel" feels off.
Absolutely HATE the icons.

Yr Blues · Jun 10, 2013

lupinglade said:
These icons have got to be temporary, the same with most of the UI graphics -- can't be serious...

ThisIsNotMe said:
Feels 1/2 finished - which it probably is.
The "fit and feel" feels off.
Absolutely HATE the icons.

Then I'll refrain from being too critical until it comes out.

Let's hope.

falconeight · Jun 10, 2013

The UI is beautiful in a sense that it takes away the digital feel of the platform. It feels natural and elegant. More like a beautiful woman and less like r2d2. Regular people are going to love it. Especially women!

Yr Blues · Jun 10, 2013

falconeight said:
The UI is beautiful in a sense that it takes away the digital feel of the platform. It feels natural and elegant. More like a beautiful woman and less like r2d2. Regular people are going to love it. Especially women!

Why would women have lower standards?

joemeetsjane · Jun 10, 2013

i'm by no means anyone of any reverence in regards to graphics design but even i, a simple layman absolutely despise the icons' design choice. like the OP mentioned, camera icon shows an old camera from ages gone. game center has some sony bubbles going on and what's up with the white space cushioning some icons? is it meant an eye meditation focal point? the icons on iOS 6 were definitely much better.

i love the interfaces for iOS 7 though. i just have to say that maybe not all design choices made by sir jony is good as can be seen in some *ahem* outfit choices of his.

Yr Blues · Jun 10, 2013

joemeetsjane said:
i'm by no means anyone of any reverence in regards to graphics design but even i, a simple layman absolutely despise the icons' design choice. like the OP mentioned, camera icon shows an old camera from ages gone. game center has some sony bubbles going on and what's up with the white space cushioning some icons? is it meant an eye meditation focal point? the icons on iOS 6 were definitely much better.

i love the interfaces for iOS 7 though. i just have to say that maybe not all design choices made by sir jony is good as can be seen in some *ahem* outfit choices of his.

exactly. and you earn an honorary design degree from me.

Parise · Jun 10, 2013

I really hope Apple forces their developers to update their icons, or provides help on it somehow.

Going to be gross looking at flat icons and bubbly ones intermingled.

syd430 · Jun 10, 2013

Disclaimer: I'm not a pro or do any kind of design work as hobby or otherwise.

Most people bury away half the stock icons that they don't use. Most of main ones (Safari, calls, messages, app store, camera) look fine in my opinion. How many people have newsstand or some of the other ones on their home screen? Also, what's the point of icon uniformity if virtually everyone has a myriad of third-party apps and folders on their homescreen? It was was always going to be a big mix-and-match of icons in real world use regardless of the uniformity of the stock icons. I think it would actually look odd having one set of uniform icons mixed in with non-uniform third-party icons.

Reminds me of when Dropbox updated their icon and how everyone hated it at first because it was radically different. I don't see those complaints anymore. If anything the old dropbox icon was horrendous with its reflection effect.

I think the the whole icon uproar is definitely overblown considering the mix-and-match nature of the homescreen with third-party apps and the fact that half of the stock icons are buried away in folders.

I also think it distracts the attention away from real UI issues like the god-ugly cover flow tab switcher in Safari. As I mentioned in another thread, I can see why it was done (to avoid mix-up with the main app switcher), but there probably was a better way than bringing back cover flow.

MacMilligan · Jun 10, 2013

As an artist, I think the look is very fresh and inviting. The older style was great at the time, but it looks heavy and artificial compared to the brightness of the new stuff. I think it may take a little time to grow on people, but I've been using iOS7 all day and am really liking it so far. I've never been a fan of the original iOS theme and am happy they are stepping away from the older design cues.

I've noticed some of the transparencies are inconsistent, but that may only be because I am using an iPhone 4 to test with right now. Safari is much improved.

IMO, I think they need a dark theme option. Some people do not care for stark white themes. I think a dark gray or black theme with light text would be a great alternative for folks. Especially to accent the Black/White iPhone colors.

Yr Blues · Jun 10, 2013

syd430 said:
god-ugly cover flow tab switcher in Safari

me too, bro.

to me it feels like the new enterprise in star trek. looks neat and fresh, but not as good as the wrath of khan enterprise.

Rogifan · Jun 10, 2013

I think people forget this is just the beginning (as Ive said). And completed in about 6 months time. It will become more refined over time.

ThisIsNotMe · Jun 10, 2013

Let me just say that I LOVE the concepts in the OS but like I said it just feels 1/2 finished and rushed again which it probably is being a beta.

joemeetsjane · Jun 11, 2013

Yr Blues said:
exactly. and you earn an honorary design degree from me.

woohoo! score! haha. i really hope we've been trolled.

nfl46 · Jun 11, 2013

Well, it's only a beta and adjustments and tweaks can be made. We still 7.1, 7.2, etc. to look forward to in the future.

Zombiechow · Jun 11, 2013

Yr Blues said:
firstly, i love the parallax layers and animated weather stuff.

I was hoping for something more flat and utilitarian. Ive is a god-tier hardware designer, but he lacks consistency and even minimalism in the GUI department.

The icons still have lighting casted on them from an angle. iTunes and the AppStore have circles around the icons, but the other icons don't have them. There's no consistency. Even the green in the chat icon doesn't mirror the blue color the messaging service now uses. Why is gamecenter a bunch of balloons? Why is the cameraroll a bunch of colored petal things? Why are some icons monochromatic while others are full color? why do the tickets still have paper texture? aren't we done with skeuomorphism?

Does anyone even own a phone that looks like the phone icon? Or a camera that looks like the camera icon? It's ironic, 'cos the iphone is the camera of the last many years.

As much as I hate Windows' Metro GUI, I think it's much more minimalistic. Metro is horribly executed, but feels more Ive than IOS 7

Image

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Thoughtful criticism in a sea of random "OMG THIS SUCKS SO BAD" is nice to read.

I absolutely agree about the inconsistency within the OS, specifically with the new icons. Perhaps this is something that will be ironed out before the public release, and sadly, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better.

While Apple may tidy up their interface, it's going to take developers quite some time to catch up, which will leave the OS feeling visually disjointed for quite some time. Apps built for iOS 6 still have the non-flat appearance, use the iOS 6 keyboard, and have launch icons that look completely out of place with the new design.

In my opinion, Apple needs to time the final release very carefully in order to give developers time to catch up to the new design standard.

Rogifan · Jun 11, 2013

I'd love people to post their current non-jail broken screen and show me the consistency of all their app icon designs. Apple could have gone the route of Microsoft ala Windows 8 but then everyone would have complained how boring it is and all the "life" was taken out of iOS. Also, check out a screen shot of Windows 8 with a bunch of 3rd party app live icons. It can look just as messy as Apple's grid of icons. I'm hoping eventually Apple will follow Android and move apps (other than the ones on the dock) to a separate area keeping the home screen nice and clean.

gpsouza · Jun 11, 2013

I completely agree with the OP. What he said was my original thought.
But, albeit the icons look I lil bit unfinished, the OS per se seems a lot more beautiful. I love the new look of messages, photo app, camera... And I dislike the new safari. Seems a lot like Ice Cream Sandwich. It doesn't fit right in IMO.

Overall, this is a beta, it's good and more stable than I thought it would be. Hope they polish it a lot more before GM.

zbarvian · Jun 11, 2013

My brother is a visual designer on Dribbble, and they all hate it. I have to agree, it looks like a wireframe. Soooo much work and polish before it'll look good.

stevemiller · Jun 11, 2013

The icon design really does not work for me. I can appreciate either minimalist and flat or highly textured, so it's not that aspect that bugs me. It's that these icons look like 1995 clip art to my eye.

I'd also like to point out to anyone saying "it's just a beta" to these critiques:
-that's what was said of the gaping holes in mapping data in ios6...
-these icons are literally being showcased as triumphs of design on apples website, they are not temp placeholders. The ONLY way they will get revised is if there is very loud chatter about it.

Finally, I honestly never jump on the "this is fugly" bandwagon that inevitably happens with any new design. But this one really got to me. I totally respect that they are experimenting with new directions, I just really hope they listen if the majority of feedback tells them this isn't working. And if the majority honestly likes it, I guess I'll just have to accept that im gettin' old

R4z3r · Jun 11, 2013

ThisIsNotMe said:
Feels 1/2 finished - which it probably is.
The "fit and feel" feels off.
Absolutely HATE the icons.

I agree. I think a lot of this is beta stuff, but I feel it's really lacking. The interactions, animations, and basic functionality are very nice now. Much more interesting to watch, but the actual design itself isn't what I expected. The icons just don't cut it in my opinion. The compass icon, stock icon, etc. are really nice but then the messages and phone icon are just horrific colors in my opinion. I would prefer a color like #27AE60 which is similar, but a little darker which I think would help with the white of the icon itself.

#27AE60 Example:

Andeavor · Jun 11, 2013

While we can all discuss iconography (btw, we still use old-fashioned items to recognize everyday devices such as phones and cameras), my big beef at the moment with 7 are the colors. The third party apps fit better with the overall design than the stock app icons. It's all neon and the hue is off giving this unbalance of non-complementary colors.

Pro Graphic Designers chime-in on iOS 7

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