I think the typography of iOS7 is really beautiful, as well as this space wallpaper they have shown in the video. Also the flatter look of calendar and all the other apps is great, personally I think flatness is something nice since it matches the design of the hardware in avoiding complex stuff and focusing on simple concepts.
However, the icons are just hideous, and i mean all of them. I am no graphic designer, but I am a painter, and consider myself to have a trong feeling for shapes and colours, and these icons do not match at all the feeling of the user interface. Honestly, the safari icon looks like windows 95 times.
I just cannot believe how this works. I mean honestly, think of this, Apple is a company with 100 billion dollars cash reserves, that means they can/could hire the best of the best graphic designers if they want to, play around with a lot of styles, iterate and come up with a great design in the end. But the idea that these icons are approved by a team of people that are all responsible for design, in such an influental company like Apple, just freaks me out. I am not a graphic designer, but I honestly think that I could create better icons than that. Because if they wanted to design flat icons then why include these gradients in the back and these neon color schemes. Somehow reminds me on snowboarders from the 80s.
I really admire the work of Johnny Ive regarding hardware, the unibody Macbook design is a masterpiece in my eyes, but when it comes to graphic design, no, they should use their 100 billion dollar cash reserves and hire someone only working for that, someone that has a good feeling for shapes and colors.
I am a bit sad now, because I don't know where Apple is going, from 2007 until 2011 or so they always had big innovations and I was always so excited. Now I think its just change because of change. Change is good but one has to be very careful with it.
That's the problem with your thinking. As a painter, you think 'painting' will add emotion to the icons. Design is more than just getting "emo". I'm an artist and designer so I understand what they're trying to do here.
Do you know why those icons have rounded corners in a grid? To relate to the hardware design of the iphone, ipad and ipod (and of course iMac) form. Look at the corners of the phone, the screen and the icons. A shape within a shape.
It worked pretty well but it can't stay that way forever.
The skeumorphism that Forstall tried to instill is CHILDISH. Period. Very, very gay, I hate to say it. My opinion, not your's. Going flat is the right approach since it's easier on the eyes. Going for the 'eye candy' detracts from what an OS is supposed to do. It seems they're trying to go back to function over form a bit which is good.
You said this: that means they can/could hire the best of the best graphic designers if they want to, play around with a lot of styles, iterate and come up with a great design in the end.
I don't think you have any idea how graphic design works out there. Playing around with a lot of styles is a waste of time. That's like asking Daft Punk to play around with tunes and until they get a good sound out of it. That's not how it works. Daft Punk did a lot of research and had to hire people to play and sing tracks, so that they can take in the recorded bits and edit the entire album which took them more than a couple of years to do.
You don't "fool around" with styles and concepts on a company's time and money. Design takes research, not emotional feelings. In fact, the way I see it, Apple's going a bit 'old school' here which is a good thing. I hate the current iOS6 look because it's too garish and simplistic. Some of the gesture UIs made no sense to me until iOS 7 changed it up.
I grew up in the 70s and can see the fonts have a certain disco style to it, even the 80s aesthetics to a bit. iOS seriously needed a refresh badly. You can't stay with rounded corners forever in the next 100 years with gloss over it.
Snowboarders from the 80s? What are you talking about?! I see them all the time in VT and the snowboard designs have been modernized from Burton (look it up).
EDIT: I also want to add that Daft Punk's new album was a work of labor and research which is mentioned in their excellent interview in the latest Rolling Stone magazine. Look it up. They'll mention their process of working.
In-house graphic designers are usually on an NDA (non disclosure agreement) especially when dealing with Apple. The design team did most of the UI and icon designs UNDER Jony Ive. Ive just directed them and provided his feedback. They did the 'grunt' work mostly, if I'm to understand it correctly. Jony, however, does the industrial design for all of their products so that with the OSes involved, he can find ways to tie their design aesthetics to his hardware design.
Same thing with Craig who ran the OS X team. I don't think Tim would have the time to 'micro manage' going from one dept to another like a crazed individual with ADD such as the famous deceased CEO before him. So in that sense, when a CEO and his team sets a mandate on a certain road map, they stick with it upon agreeing with the vision. Once that vision is agreed upon, they can't afford to mess around by experimenting with styles, visuals, color schemes and such. That should be squared away already immediately without floundering around.
Or Marvel Comics, for instance. They can't afford an artist to flounder around on a book for a month experimenting on a style. The artist MUST have a style and sense of technical ability already upon hiring (and if they like the portfolio or by great reputation/contract offer) to get the issue out on time. Marvel cannot mess around on their schedule since time is money and money is time.
