you typed 'objective' where you probably meant 'subjective'. an opinion (yours, mine) is just that; an opinion.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.
i don't love everything about the look, but am smart enough to adapt, wait for possible refinements, and get on with my life, as opposed to imagining that apple will change everything because some people on an internet forum complained.
disclaimer: i am spending too much time on this forum 🤣