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Does Jonny Ive really understand interface design?

I am going to say no. I was worried when they appointed him to this new position. He is a hardware guy, UI design is completely different.

My thinking is that his leadership in this new position is somewhat symbolic. How can you go from doing all the hardware only (and most likely working 60 hrs a week doing just that), to doing all the hardware AND being the head of iOS...it is too much work and the work is too different. (duh, I do not think he does it alone).

Ive has been Stretched too thin. An appropriate pun, seeing as ultra-thin, difficult to read fonts are now littered throughout the OS.

I honestly think Apple needs to hire someone else specifically as head of iOS.

I don't get this. Don't people know they can change the thinness of the font? People want change, they complain when it happens. People want choice, they complain when it happens. Sigh. Bad luck Apple.
 
I don't get this. Don't people know they can change the thinness of the font? People want change, they complain when it happens. People want choice, they complain when it happens. Sigh. Bad luck Apple.

And don't you know that system-wide bolding affects fonts in certain apps that some people might not want to affect, i.e Messages and other apps, where it looks downright bad?
 
And don't you know that system-wide bolding affects fonts in certain apps that some people might not want to affect, i.e Messages and other apps, where it looks downright bad?

Don't you know, "downright bad" is subject. The entitlement and unaware of others in this world is appalling...
 
I really like the new design. Not all icons are that great, but overall an improvement from ios6. The main problem for me is that the ui is not consistent throughout the os.

For example:
When I want to create a new text message, the icon (which is not a + sign, like many others in the os) is above right. When I want to create a new email, the icon (also not a + sign) is below on the right. To create a new album/folder in the gallery (pictures) app, the icon (a + sign) is above left. A new appointement in the calendar app is above right and this time also a + sign.

I just hope it gets more a little more consistent in the future.

Sometimes consistency is less important than maintaining continuity between versions. A lot of people are quite accustomed to the icons for new messages in Messages and Mail. I suppose the counter argument can then be made as to why they changed other things like the share button in Safari. But I think on balance, the compose button in Messages and Mail is so critical and used so often each day that it simply didn't make sense to change it.

In addition (no pun intended), the + sign connotes adding something. You don't add a new message or email, you compose one. As opposed to albums in a playlist or appointments in a calendar where contextually the + would make more sense.
 
He has lied time and time again. How is the GT650M the most powerful graphics processor on the market. Has it ever even been. He is simply putting on a show and has been getting by on other peoples success.
 

I have no problem criticising iOS 7 to hell and back. That said, these icons are SIGNIFICANTLY better than every stock iOS 7 icon. They're properly minimal, use metaphors that make sense and are self-explanatory and best of all, were clearly designed by, you know, professionals.

I could do without the yellow part of GarageBand's gradient, though.
 
I have no problem criticising iOS 7 to hell and back. That said, these icons are SIGNIFICANTLY better than every stock iOS 7 icon. They're properly minimal, use metaphors that make sense and are self-explanatory and best of all, were clearly designed by, you know, professionals.

I could do without the yellow part of GarageBand's gradient, though.

I just think they look cheesy. If I didn't know better, I would have said that such icons can be created very easily with Photoshop. One layer with the gradient tool, the other with a simple, semi-transparent overlaying image. Compared to their artistic predecessors, they are nothing like it. As you said yourself, they look different from the other icons which makes iOS 7 even less consistent than it already is.
 
I think a lot of people don't appreciate the importance of icons enough. Icons are the apps' faces, their metaphor. We identify apps with their icons and we are drawn to them when they are good. It goes beyond the home screen, they are everywhere on iOS: notifications, settings, the App Store and the app switcher. For that reason, icons should ideally meet two criteria: distinctiveness and descriptiveness.

They should be distinctive enough to make app identification as easy as possible. When I receive a notification, I immediately recognise and respond to the icon. On the home screen, my brain memorises the location of apps on the basis of their icon. You can notice the difference when you relocate an app. You get used to the new location much easier if it's a distinctive icon than if it's a generic one, like a folder. Eventually you get used to a new position, but it happens much quicker with a unique icon. That's the human brain.

Icons should also be descriptive. When I am browsing the App Store, then the icon can often tell a lot about the app. Not just about what it does, but perhaps also whether it is well-designed or not. For new users or users who barely use their devices, descriptive icons can be very helpful. An icon depicting a calendar or envelope can hardly be misunderstood. An icon with coloured bubbles is meaningless (Game Centre).

My problem with the flat style of iOS 7 is that icons are less distinctive and often also less descriptive, or not descriptive at all. Many icons now have two-colour gradients, often the same colours, and a simple, white image. They may look good, but they are less distinctive than their predecessors. Many of them are also not descriptive (anymore). That may be less of a problem with Apple's apps, but third-party developers are following the lead, as users start to experience a certain aversion for everything that is not flat. We end up with lots of simplistic icons and while it may fit some people's tastes, they are less functional than they used to be. For me, that is a step backwards, and even worse, an unnecessary one.
 
I really want to hear Ives come out and say he had nothing to do with the Newsstand icon or interface. What a terrible design for both. When I opened the app on the iPad I really thought it didn't load correctly with just the graduated bars showing. I'd love to hear the grand philosophy of how such a crappy look is effective design. Both the icon and the app itself look like they were designed by an intern that then returned for their sophomore year of design school.
And now that leaving a Newsstand publication puts you back into the app instead of the Home screen, I get a double whammy of fugly. Oh and thanks for the type at the bottom left saying "Newsstand", that's such an effective addition.
Perhaps Ives had nothing to do with the exact implementations, but they were approved under his design watch and that says something.
 
I don't get this. Don't people know they can change the thinness of the font? People want change, they complain when it happens. People want choice, they complain when it happens. Sigh. Bad luck Apple.

You do not get it because your sense of timing is off. I made that post before Ive/Apple changed Helvetia Neue Ultra Light as the font (maybe because of listening to designer-types like myself) to Helvetica Neue Light...which is much nicer than ultra light with small UI fonts

Knowledge is power...get some power.

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And don't you know that system-wide bolding affects fonts in certain apps that some people might not want to affect, i.e Messages and other apps, where it looks downright bad?

True that.
 
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You do not get it because your sense of timing is off. I made that post before Ive/Apple changed Helvetia Neue Ultra Light as the font (maybe because of listening to designer-types like myself) to Helvetica Neue Light...which is much nicer than ultra light with small UI fonts

Knowledge is power...get some power.

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True that.

Wait so be knowledgable in getting the time of a post, or in design cause you kinda contradict yourself.

You agree that bolding makes unwanted apps' font bold but doing it the opossite way would be counter intuitive. "Turn on bold font? Oh it only turns it in for the homescreen, this sucks." Would be the general response. But a designer would've have known this, right? I mean consistency is what good design is. The epitome if you will. I'm guessing you haven't developed an OS or an app and are taking design classes, as such flaunting the title. Please proceed to do some fieldwork, bud. ;-)

(I'm a programmer, and just like you, flaunting it and saying knowledge is powerful is apperently the good thing to do).
 
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the sunflower goes and opens its petals for light, as an aperture... also looks like one..

Very very smart. This explanation alone make me like the icon 10 times more. :p

Now just get rid of all the white background in the Photo app, will ya Jony?
 
Very very smart. This explanation alone make me like the icon 10 times more. :p

Now just get rid of all the white background in the Photo app, will ya Jony?

Smart¿.. Ultrasmart you mean, i just noticed it after seen iphone 5c tv advert and i owned an iphone in 2008 :)
 
My question is: Why do we keep calling UI when it's more of a theme? A hideous theme - there are better themes on Cydia. UI is the same as on iOS6.
 
I wonder how long Apple will keep Jonny as the face of Apple design?
Maybe the value of stock has to go down some more first.
 
Does Johny really understand interface design? Probably exponentially better than anyone here as well as he probably better understands the management of pulling the parts together to roll out such a change.

I'm guessing Johny might struggle in pulling off some of our jobs but doubt there's anyone in this community who could handle his position.
 
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