Louie Mantia has posted a superb critique on the Liquid Glass situation.
Link: https://lmnt.me/blog/ive-got-better-things-to-do-than-this-and-yet.html
Some highlights (or lowlights I suppose)
Titlebars which were merged into toolbars years ago are now imperceptible.
Who knows where it’s safe to drag a window around now?
Almost every icon has an unfortunate concession to fit into this Liquid Glass model.
But what I can’t help but notice for 12 years now is that without visual effects serving to differentiate one control from another, we’ve lost immediate recognition of different UI elements. Title bars merged with toolbars. Toolbars merged with tab bars. Is this icon an action or a tab? Will it open a menu or switch the view? It’s anybody’s guess.
...makes me think someone doesn’t understand there is a difference between these kinds of UI elements.
Some edges are awfully sharp. Apple is hitting HDR levels with their brightness, but the clipping or masking in some apps for these buttons seems a little crunchy.
Every time I see an issue, I ask, “What problem is this solving?” And every time, there is no answer. There is seemingly no benefit to any of this.
I’m watching a video. I don’t need a big honkin’ pause button in the middle of the window, you know?
But wait a minute, why is there a big honkin’ pause button in the middle of the window anyway? That’s not how it used to be.
Going back to when UI was more visually separated from something like your photos, that puts the focus on the photos, because it differentiates the content area from the UI. Whereas now, it conflates the two.
...an over-the-top circular glass pause button that sits on top of a playing video.
At the point when you have to blur the content area to make the UI stand out from it, how can you possibly argue that it gets out of the way? It makes no sense.
It’s not just bad taste. It’s bad judgement. It’s bad design.
Link: https://lmnt.me/blog/ive-got-better-things-to-do-than-this-and-yet.html
Some highlights (or lowlights I suppose)
Titlebars which were merged into toolbars years ago are now imperceptible.
Who knows where it’s safe to drag a window around now?
Almost every icon has an unfortunate concession to fit into this Liquid Glass model.
But what I can’t help but notice for 12 years now is that without visual effects serving to differentiate one control from another, we’ve lost immediate recognition of different UI elements. Title bars merged with toolbars. Toolbars merged with tab bars. Is this icon an action or a tab? Will it open a menu or switch the view? It’s anybody’s guess.
...makes me think someone doesn’t understand there is a difference between these kinds of UI elements.
Some edges are awfully sharp. Apple is hitting HDR levels with their brightness, but the clipping or masking in some apps for these buttons seems a little crunchy.
Every time I see an issue, I ask, “What problem is this solving?” And every time, there is no answer. There is seemingly no benefit to any of this.
I’m watching a video. I don’t need a big honkin’ pause button in the middle of the window, you know?
But wait a minute, why is there a big honkin’ pause button in the middle of the window anyway? That’s not how it used to be.
Going back to when UI was more visually separated from something like your photos, that puts the focus on the photos, because it differentiates the content area from the UI. Whereas now, it conflates the two.
...an over-the-top circular glass pause button that sits on top of a playing video.
At the point when you have to blur the content area to make the UI stand out from it, how can you possibly argue that it gets out of the way? It makes no sense.
It’s not just bad taste. It’s bad judgement. It’s bad design.
