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Another Designer Leaves Apple

If he is the same talentless designer as ones who worked on Liquid Glass, it is definitely for good. Too sad we no more have designers that can envision unreal things, the ones that are actually fun and convenient.

iPhone Air? Full of compromises. Too large, no bottom speaker, limited cheap camera (even Galaxy Edge included 200MP flagship module from Ultra), what else, a giant useless plateau for “cooling” yet no vapor chamber? I guess AI firm that employs him won’t be happy with his work
 
Liquid Glass is fine. I don't know why everyone's so upset about it. I personally think it's well-designed.

The iPhone Air, on the other hand, was seemingly a waste of time.
 
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capamac said:
www.creativeboom.com

Hotlist 2025: the best graphic design books, as voted for by designers

Want to know which graphic design books are most useful? We asked the creative community to vote, and here are the results. In the world of graphic design, you never stop learning and staying up-t...
www.creativeboom.com www.creativeboom.com
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That’s an interesting post, I'll check out those books, thanks!

capamac said:
Displays are (with rare exception) two-dimensional ... flat. There is little to gain with false 3-D UI elements. Apple already mussed about with skeuomorphism some years ago.
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Wow I don’t understand that limitation/preference?

By extension, would you prefer “flat” cartoons 100% of the time on TV/movies or are you ok with “live acting” on TV/movies (people and scenery are 3D elements on the two-dimensional screen).

capamac said:
Graphic design is based on sound established principles that exist for logical reasons (such as, for example, having contrast for legibility -- something Apple bungled badly with the initial iOS 26 release.)
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Couldn't agree more. Same for iOS 7 until Apple walked things back (like they did with iOS 26).

I’ve preferred (and complained for) intuitive UI that reflects more of the “real world” for over a decade now (since iOS 7).

UI’s/OS’s like the 1st-gen iOS7 or iOS26 were full of things that constantly prompted the question “why did they do that,” and often left a user either scrambling to understand how to do something that was pretty darn intuitive before, and/or finding a way to make it work better for them (via Accessibility settings), while I can’t think of a single time I was stumped or asked “why did they do it that way” from my first iphone/ipad up to and including iOS6.

That is something I think that is overlooked by too many... The above to me is an example of how things used to mostly "just work"....compared to "breakthroughs" like iOS 7 & iOS 26 that don't just work and need massaged and walked-back to get closer to working intuitively and robustly.

I’m not saying iOS6 should never have changed beyond itself; but the jarring changes introduced in iOS 7 & 26 were clearly form over function….a design exercise first and foremost...iOS 7 was Jony Ive's stubborn Ego project, with intuitive design and the user pushed back in priority….
 
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dannys1 said:
Honestly it's starting to show and not in a good way. We need some of the brutal Apple design ethos, stubbornness and ruthless attention to detail back from Jobs mind. We need a bit more form over function again, it's what made Apple unique.
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Give it up; it’s over - only under Musk could some of that perfectionist mojo return to the company.
 
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I wonder what turnover is like in general across designers (or engineers, for that matter) in the tech industry? Us old guys tend to see Snow Leopard as the peak prior to the decline, but that was 16 years ago. How many non-management folks are still around from back then? Is anyone?
 
If this guy is truly valuable, and talented, and confident, then why is it a surprise to anyone for him to move onward even if it seems he's leaving "a good thing?"

This isn't the best metaphor, but why do so many hit TV sitcoms/series "go awful" after the 2nd or 3rd hit season? Because some of the truly talented designers are either lured away, or get bored, or are young and bold enough still to want that next big challenge, etc.

I myself left a good thing at age 34 to go to a startup that failed after 3 years. Super glad I did, was a great experience.

One past failure can sometimes provide insight that 10 successes will never provide.

So until anyone gets to hear from him, and assuming he'll be honest in that conversation, unless there's a blatant smoking gun then who knows why someone leaves somewhere.
 
UliBaer said:
The rats abandon the sinking ship?
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Another reason I have been thinking about jumping ship. I have been in the Apple world for 42+ years, but it has lost its appeal. I’m still hanging in only because the competition is still a bit rough around the edges. I am using older Apple gear now, not because I can’t afford new stuff, but because I do not want to give my money to a company I no longer respect. If the new CEO can turn things around, it will probably take a couple of years before we see real improvements. It was fun while it lasted. 🤷‍♂️
 
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dannys1 said:
Honestly it's starting to show and not in a good way. We need some of the brutal Apple design ethos, stubbornness and ruthless attention to detail back from Jobs mind. We need a bit more form over function again, it's what made Apple unique.
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I think it is more profit driven than anything else.
 
Rafagon said:
The iPhone Air is worse than a disaster. It's an embarrassment.
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I don't get this at all...other than the screen being too big for my taste, it looks fantastic.

I'm not in the market for a new phone, but If I was, I might be going for the Air. I suppose I'm unusual in that I don't care about the cameras.
 
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"Improvements" to MacOS and iOS have become chaotically cosmetic. Apple hardware improvements have become incremental since M1. The entire hardware and software industry are at a static point wherein Artificial Intelligence has been the only marketing focus for the past two years. Yes, AI is productive and will benefit many. However, how will AI impact future hardware/software ecosystems? What information gaps exist now that need to be formulated for?
 
Donkey Man said:
Give it up; it’s over - only under Musk could some of that perfectionist mojo return to the company.
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LOL….I can’t believe you actually mentioned Musk as someone who could save Apple. First things first…Apple doesn’t need saving. Apple has reached the end stage of design for computers and phones. There’s no new breakthrough coming in those form factors from Apple much less anyone else. The Air proves that too thin is too much for consumers. Folding phones with twin screens are just a twin screen flip phone. (Yawn). Too expensive and too fragile to make a dent long term in the marketplace. AR/VR is and will always be niche. They’ll sort their own AI out in time as they did with Apple Silicon. But the entire industry has reached the point like automobiles. After early mankind learned how to put wooden wheels on axles to make a cart the end stage of that form factor was putting an engine inside. Either gas powered or electric. But even a Tesla is a glorified horse cart that travels on pavement instead of dirt. Refinement and sophistication should never be conflated with breakthrough. The original breakthrough was the wheel. Same with computer technology. The original breakthrough was the abacus, the radio and the television. The rest was combination and miniaturization.

Secondly….Musk is a demonstrable failure. His AI is a joke. His cars are death traps that still to this day do not have full autonomous driving as he’s promised for years, his solar roof company was such a dumpster fire he had to roll it into X for accounting purposes and he’s a drugged out drama queen who only survives on Wall Street investments and Trump killing off overseas and domestic competition.

Want to kill Apple for good? Let Musk take over. It would be the equivalent of John Scully, Gil Amelio and the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs arriving at Apple HQ simultaneously.
 
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