Still holds the record for “number of complete OS reinstalls” for me
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Liquid Glass - A must read critique
- Thread starter turbineseaplane
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Still holds the record for “number of complete OS reinstalls” for me
The fact that some people, even design-oriented professionals, are defending this abomination, illustrates why the tech industry ensh*ttification is off the charts.
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It's a flawed concept, betas can't fix that, but good one.
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Apple is horrible in terms of ergonomics and ease of use as far as UX goes, it's insane
Liquid grass. Too many bong hits in Cupertino.
This has actually hit such a huge nail on the head as to what exactly bugs me about modern UI design. Most apps seem to have minute or nonexistent differentiation between different elements that makes everything less immediately parseable. I find it especially distracting on third party/multiplatform apps (especially Discord, eugh) but it's present even in Apple's apps.
This article does a great job of vocalizing (textualizing?) exactly why things like title bars and separation of different elements is important. Something as simple as a title bar seems to be scoffed at now, but it's important! It's valuable to be able to glance at an app and immediately tell where I can click to move it around, and having it be a different, starker color to the rest of the app is a definite plus.
I was initially very excited about LG when it was announced, but as we've gotten further out from the initial reveal I'm starting to get a little concerned as to how it'll actually end up being in terms of day-to-day functionality. It seems like a neat gimmick, but should the UI of the operating system you have to use all day for work be "a neat gimmick"?
You can't make everyone happy. I absolutely love the new design!
Going back and forth between my iPad Air with 18 and my iPad Gen9 with 26–a couple of days with each—I find the visuals of 26 very off-putting. Distracting, actually. They do not enhance my experience one bit.
Some will say that I’m resistant to change. Nonsense. There are times that engineers and artisans perfect a design and later, someone from marketing says a new look will boost sales. IMHO, that’s Liquid Grass.
Some will say that I’m resistant to change. Nonsense. There are times that engineers and artisans perfect a design and later, someone from marketing says a new look will boost sales. IMHO, that’s Liquid Grass.
Shouldn’t we save any criticism until it’s out of beta?
This looks fantastic
correction, a few of us don’t care who he is.
nothing wrong with critiquing an interface, but this guy sounds so full of himself and self congratulatory that it makes it almost impossible to take him seriously.
“I mentioned how I don’t really like spending my time talking about this kind of stuff.”
Oh but you do.
“But my gosh, this is a multi-trillion dollar company that’s getting free design critique from people who love and rely on these platforms the most. For free. Absolutely nothing in return. It’s almost as if we’re all posting about it because of desperation. So many of us are hoping this really isn’t what we have to live with for the next five or ten years. Despite knowing it will take time away from the things we’d much rather be doing, we’re writing blog posts and recording podcasts and posting on social media anyway.”
Give me the world’s smallest violin for your big problems
The guy clearly enjoys it, what’s this wrapping his rants in so much “oh I don’t wanna do this”… “Apple made me do this!” It’s so dumb.
it would feel more genuine if the guy would just admit he wants to rant and rave about the design for 10 pages because it’s fun to rant and rave. WTF is this “oh sad me having to write” bs.
The guy makes it sound like he’s writing about his experience going off to war, sir you’re just gabbing about Apple’s new coat of paint, it’s not that serious.
“I mean, the path bar and status bar in Finder don’t know where to end. Are they supposed to go behind the sidebar? If so, why? If not, why not?”
This is a known bug. It’s been in the release notes of both betas. Apple knows about it. If only this guy would spend a little less time trying to get worked up in a little more time actually doing some research, he would’ve known about that.
problem is, several of his critiques are already noted by Apple in the release notes as known issues and bugs.
Also, every redesign Apple makes is hit with the exact same criticisms
oh, apple is not following their own human interface guidelines? They really aren’t? Aren’t they?
daringfireball.net
this blog post is from 2004, probably Apple at their most Steve Jobsian, and people hated the interface then. Didn’t follow the HIG, brushed metal looked ugly, pinstripes are disgusting, it’s not the Mac I used to no and so on.
people will get used to liquid glass the same way they got used to brushed metal, gray linen and every other design theme Apple has introduced over the years.
oh, apple is not following their own human interface guidelines? They really aren’t? Aren’t they?
Daring Fireball: Brushed Metal and the HIG
daringfireball.net
people will get used to liquid glass the same way they got used to brushed metal, gray linen and every other design theme Apple has introduced over the years.
people who say that Apple won’t change anything before the final beta… Have you ever been around for beta testing before?
A couple years ago they introduced a dramatic safari redesign… And then reversed it in the RC (release candidate).
they have literally spent the last year, tweaking and refining the Photos app due to public feedback.
A couple years ago, they moved the end call button to the right side of the screen, and then moved it back to the center after plenty of complaining.
if something is truly that bad, they will fix it.
A couple years ago they introduced a dramatic safari redesign… And then reversed it in the RC (release candidate).
they have literally spent the last year, tweaking and refining the Photos app due to public feedback.
A couple years ago, they moved the end call button to the right side of the screen, and then moved it back to the center after plenty of complaining.
if something is truly that bad, they will fix it.
can’t remember who but a couple weeks ago someone posted a brilliant compilation of every MR iOS “worst ever” thread calling at the worst version ever going back to 2.0…
it was literally a long long list.
iPhone OS 2.0 destroyed the iPhone
iPhone OS 3.0 might be the worst release Apple ever made.
iOS 4 proves that Apple is going down the tubes.
iOS5 is so bad, is Apple Microsoft now?
Etc…
There’s definitely be an option to significantly reduce the transparency in Accessibility settings, and it’s best to reserve judgement until Tahoe is actually released. Developer betas are only that; unfinished versions released purely for testing. Don’t make financial decisions based on a beta version.
it's good work, but i wouldn't want to see the default apple icons look like that (any more than i'd want to relive anything from the '90s)
This is literally the reason why I'm not into that "redesign" (yet?). The whole UI is just the same old and flat with some gimmicky transparent or frosty buttons added on top of that with over-the-top shadows and even now not every button is "glassy".
It just feels inconsistent to me. I think I was just expecting bigger redesign and not some buttons, icons and pop-ups, especially how they keep saying that this is the biggest redesign for them.
What I HATE is the way the keep increasing corner radius. What is exactly the point of increasing the corner radius in MacOS windows when most screens have sharp corners or they're subtle like on new MacBooks with notches.
Difference is that this isn’t like every year, it’s the first big design overhaul in 13 years and the FIRST time Apple simultaneously updates the esthetics of their 6 biggest platforms, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS and CarPlay, excluding visionOS.
And it’s radical, too.
I must say, I enjoyed this critique. The conclusion really nails the bigger problem of Liquid Glass: that beyond simply being new, there is nothing inherently improved about it.
The Beta phase cannot be used as an excuse for poor design choices. Bugs and oversights will get fixed, but the fundamentals of liquid glass are in place now, and they’re not changing.
Watching the developer videos is a good insight into how misguided Alan Dye and his team (we assume). They provide rationale for each of the primary design features, but what’s telling is that almost none have a clear benefit to the end user.
For instance, in the video concerning app icon design they repeatedly discuss criteria for good and poor choices when it comes to layering ‘glass’ elements, but by the end there is no clear explanation as to why an app icon must conform to principles of glass layering. I am not a UX designer, but I don’t need to be one to know that you’re stifling originality and personality by forcing a design to be made from ‘glass’, and thus limiting how distinct it can be.
Mail.app is a clear case in point. It’s an absolute abomination of an app icon, not just in terms of composition, but is self-inflicted by forcing a ‘glass’ material onto an object that is the last material we associate with being glass. It looks completely at odds with an Apple experience and in no way improves upon the current Sequoia icon.
Many of us here are long time Mac users, myself included, and we’ll be reminded somewhat condescendingly that not everyone can be made happy when a new experience is released. This is true only to an extent; Liquid Glass isn’t subjectively bad, it’s objectively a lesser experience when user interface elements are less clear and thus more difficult to interact with.
Mountain Lion was easily peak-MacOS design when it came strictly to the usability of the interface, and Aqua was a world away from this self-absorbed “look what we can do” nonsense that exists purely from the back-slapping culture that sadly has eroded any sense of taste and integrity that I once associated with Apple.
Platinum, Aqua and Late-Aqua were user-focused, Liquid Glass is not.
The Beta phase cannot be used as an excuse for poor design choices. Bugs and oversights will get fixed, but the fundamentals of liquid glass are in place now, and they’re not changing.
Watching the developer videos is a good insight into how misguided Alan Dye and his team (we assume). They provide rationale for each of the primary design features, but what’s telling is that almost none have a clear benefit to the end user.
For instance, in the video concerning app icon design they repeatedly discuss criteria for good and poor choices when it comes to layering ‘glass’ elements, but by the end there is no clear explanation as to why an app icon must conform to principles of glass layering. I am not a UX designer, but I don’t need to be one to know that you’re stifling originality and personality by forcing a design to be made from ‘glass’, and thus limiting how distinct it can be.
Mail.app is a clear case in point. It’s an absolute abomination of an app icon, not just in terms of composition, but is self-inflicted by forcing a ‘glass’ material onto an object that is the last material we associate with being glass. It looks completely at odds with an Apple experience and in no way improves upon the current Sequoia icon.
Many of us here are long time Mac users, myself included, and we’ll be reminded somewhat condescendingly that not everyone can be made happy when a new experience is released. This is true only to an extent; Liquid Glass isn’t subjectively bad, it’s objectively a lesser experience when user interface elements are less clear and thus more difficult to interact with.
Mountain Lion was easily peak-MacOS design when it came strictly to the usability of the interface, and Aqua was a world away from this self-absorbed “look what we can do” nonsense that exists purely from the back-slapping culture that sadly has eroded any sense of taste and integrity that I once associated with Apple.
Platinum, Aqua and Late-Aqua were user-focused, Liquid Glass is not.
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