Stockholm Syndrome of the "horrible icons"

[uhaas]

People probably don't even use it, but

I can't stand the videos icon. What is it trying to convey, a sound sync thing? I think someone could be more creative in coming up with a more representative icon.

 

[vannibombonato]

Again, I don't want Apple to go back to the iOS 6 icons, I just want them to do a better job on some of the iOS 7 icons.

I'm seriously puzzled how this debate on the look of the icons is going over and over and over.

We are talking tastes here, and the jury declared that the majority of the users prefer the new looks. Let alone the functionality.

So you are complaining because ios7 is not exactly how you, single consumer of something that affect hundreds of million of people would have designed it? Welcome to the real world, ios7 is not designed exactly like they wanted even at Apple, i would have designed it slightly differently, each and everyone of us would have designed it slightly or less slightly different.

If you say that for your personal taste ios7 is ugly or does not fit your needs it's more than ok, either you change phone or suck it up, but as the overwhelming majority of people actually LIKE it, how can you expect radical changes? Why do you complain? It's like complaining that the sun is yellow!

 

[MacDevil7334]

I'm seriously puzzled how this debate on the look of the icons is going over and over and over.

We are talking tastes here, and the jury declared that the majority of the users prefer the new looks. Let alone the functionality.

So you are complaining because ios7 is not exactly how you, single consumer of something that affect hundreds of million of people would have designed it? Welcome to the real world, ios7 is not designed exactly like they wanted even at Apple, i would have designed it slightly differently, each and everyone of us would have designed it slightly or less slightly different.

If you say that for your personal taste ios7 is ugly or does not fit your needs it's more than ok, either you change phone or suck it up, but as the overwhelming majority of people actually LIKE it, how can you expect radical changes? Why do you complain? It's like complaining that the sun is yellow!

See, but I don't think the majority of users have said they like it. I think the majority of users who care about things like iOS betas have said they like the new icons. But these were the same people who have been screaming for a change in the look of iOS for years. The fact is the roughly 70,000 people who have voted in these polls account for a tiny fraction of the millions of people who are going to be updating to iOS 7 this fall. So, I don't think "the jury" has really spoken yet.

Now, it may be that the breakdown turns out to be the same when the update is released. But there are some indisputable ways that the interface changes are a step backward from a usability perspective. Some of the icons (especially the green ones) are rather hard to distinguish because you have a white glyph on a gaudy neon background. I can see it fine, but someone who is older with poor eyesight might have a problem. And Apple's decision to replace most navigation buttons with colored text that is the same size and font as the system font makes it way more difficult to distinguish actionable items at a glance. This is especially evident in the notes app (yellow-on-white, really Apple?). Sometimes, these navigational text items also get shortened to the point where you don't know what they say unless you're familiar with the OS already (see the messages app). These things aren't a matter of taste, they are bad design choices pure and simple.

My grandmother is 85 and never uses her PC because she finds it so intimidating. I bought her an iPad last year because it is so natural and straightforward to use. The realistic textures and icons, and the high contrast between navigation elements and content are good for her because they make the OS feel familiar and are easy to navigate at a glance. I will advise her against upgrading to iOS 7 this fall if Apple keeps things the way they are, even though I like the OS personally. That's unfortunate because one of Apple's greatest strengths is they make computing accessible to people who aren't technically inclined. In iOS 7, some of that has been lost and I think the icons have become a symbol for these changes.

 

[C DM]

Bearing in mind, of course, that we are talking aesthetics...a matter of personal taste.

Concepts such as right or wrong, or good or bad, are irrelevant in matters of taste. I can disagree with someone's taste, but that is not right or wrong, or good or bad...it is a difference in personal taste.

I agree in general. However if they don't stick to the design during implementation and are inconsistent that still falls under an overall concept of right/wrong or good/bad, especially if the whole "science" behind the design is featured so prominently in promotional and other materials.

 

[Shrink]

I agree in general. However if they don't stick to the design during implementation and are inconsistent that still falls under an overall concept of right/wrong or good/bad, especially if the whole "science" behind the design is featured so prominently in promotional and other materials.

I agree, in general, too.

While aesthetics is a matter of taste, your reference to the science of design and human/design interface, not unlike ergonomics, does lend itself to good/bad evaluation.

 

[bobbba]

Apple's strategy seems to be, by the end of the iOS 7 betas we'll have all grown to love or at least be familiar enough with the icons that were it threatened that they be taken away, the vast majority would fight it. I'm wondering, has that tipping point already been reached? I cast my vote to keep the icons. Who is with me?

Given that ios7 is a restricted beta using it as a means to win round everybody would seem to be unrealistic to say the least.

 

[Gogurt48]

I'm seriously puzzled how this debate on the look of the icons is going over and over and over.

We are talking tastes here, and the jury declared that the majority of the users prefer the new looks. Let alone the functionality.

The majority of users haven't seen it yet.

So you are complaining because ios7 is not exactly how you, single consumer of something that affect hundreds of million of people would have designed it?

No, I'm complaining about certain aspects of iOS 7 that I don't like because I'm on a message board, the purpose of which is to discuss our impressions of iOS 7. I've also been effusive in my praise of other aspects of iOS 7, and have made no secret of the fact that on the whole I love it.

Welcome to the real world, ios7 is not designed exactly like they wanted even at Apple, i would have designed it slightly differently, each and everyone of us would have designed it slightly or less slightly different.

I don't expect Apple to make design choices based upon my own personal preferences. What I expect from Apple is simply excellence in whatever design choices they make. Whether they decide to make the icons skeuomorphic and glossy, or "flat" and simple, I expect Apple to produce best-in-class examples of those design philosophies. I can point to lots of examples of well-done "flat" icons (Facebook, Dropbox, MyFitnessPal, Gmail, TV Guide, PayPal, Yellow Pages, Yelp, and American Greetings, to name just a few). Next to those, most of Apple's icons look amateurish and cheap.

If you say that for your personal taste ios7 is ugly or does not fit your needs it's more than ok, either you change phone or suck it up, but as the overwhelming majority of people actually LIKE it, how can you expect radical changes? Why do you complain? It's like complaining that the sun is yellow!

As I said, the majority of users haven't seen it yet. Whether they'll like it or not remains to be seen. But I complain about it here because this is a message board where such things are discussed, and I complain about it now because iOS 7 is still in beta, so now's the time to make such complaints heard, in the hope that Apple will listen and make some changes.

Again, my complaint isn't that Apple decided to go in a "flat" direction, it's that they produced some truly lousy examples of "flat" designs. They've set a high bar for themselves in the past, so I expect better from them.

 

[vannibombonato]

...

Thanks for your OPINION ON THE LOOKS, this is a message board, and as there some hundreds of topics saying over and over and over the same exact thing, it would be more productive for the community to join one of those discussions instead of keeping on opening posts saying that mr. X find the looks of icon Y bad.

 

[Brittany246]

I feel like people say they like the icons because they were made by Apple. I'm honestly having a hard time believing people actually think they look good. They remind me of something you'd find on an old webpage from the 90s. The colors clash as well. White, Bright yellow, and neon blue... no... just no.

 

[Gogurt48]

Thanks for your OPINION ON THE LOOKS,

You're welcome. My opinion is offered freely, and is worth every penny.

this is a message board, and as there some hundreds of topics saying over and over and over the same exact thing, it would be more productive for the community to join one of those discussions instead of keeping on opening posts saying that mr. X find the looks of icon Y bad.

I'm not sure why you're directing that at me. I didn't start this thread, nor did I raise the topic of the icons. My first post in this thread was the sixteenth post and I was responding to something someone else said. That's how message boards work. If the discussion interests you, you join in. If it doesn't, you don't.

 

[notrack]

I feel like people say they like the icons because they were made by Apple. I'm honestly having a hard time believing people actually think they look good. They remind me of something you'd find on an old webpage from the 90s. The colors clash as well. White, Bright yellow, and neon blue... no... just no.

Exactly my thoughts, too. Often I read here "I don't mind them" and "they are growing on me". That sounds rather disappointing to me.

 

[Rogifan]

Exactly my thoughts, too. Often I read here "I don't mind them" and "they are growing on me". That sounds rather disappointing to me.

Why because they can't grow on people? Or shock an horror! somebody actually doesn't hate them (or doesn't care one way or the other)?

 

[ErikGrim]

I can understand the general dislike of the Safari icon, but I don't see what people find so offensive about the settings icon. Is it because it looks like it will grind your finger up if you touch it? I admit, it's funny because I recall they already addressed this in iOS 6—that the gears looked too "toothy". As far as the best new icon, Music definitely has my vote.

I love the settings icon. It's by far the best update. Looks great animated too.

 

[sero323]

As I said I'm not rocking with iOS7 so I didn't know

Dont need iOS 7. Just go here http://www.apple.com/ios/ios7/

 

[sero323]

I can't stand the videos icon. What is it trying to convey, a sound sync thing? I think someone could be more creative in coming up with a more representative icon.

Umm i think thats the icon that has really not changed much.

 

[maxosx]

The following statement says it better than I can... these are fugly icons that's for sure.

"The new iOS icons feel much more like they were designed to be prizes in a McDonald's Happy Meal than like they were designed by the brilliant designers in California."



source:
http://www.zdnet.com/ios-7-why-im-finally-dumping-my-iphone-for-an-android-7000017123/

 

[blackhand1001]

There have been numerous polls here, each poll giving the same result: 70%+ of people prefer the look of ios7 vs. ios6.
And here it's full of people that complain for things like the beta being full of bugs.

Now, how can you seriously expect to have a point?

I'm sincerely sorry that you don't like the new icons, but face the reality, you are the minority.

Run the same poll on android 2.3 vs 4.0 and close to 100% will say that 4.0 is a huge improvement.

 

[irDigital0l]

Only one that makes no sense at all is Game Center, its worse than the current one.

 

[C DM]

Why because they can't grow on people? Or shock an horror! somebody actually doesn't hate them (or doesn't care one way or the other)?

They sure can. But, if they were truly good they wouldn't need to grow on people since the people would like them from the beginning.

 

[cleo1]

For those of us iOS 7 users who wish to populate our home screens with useful 3rd party apps with great flat icons, these devs can't miss:
-Adobe (#1, many free apps—try Kulur)
-Microsoft (Photosynth a must-have)
-Google (hate to say it)
-Yahoo (love Weather)
Ok so these are the usual suspects, no surprise that they would have their collective act together so quickly (before Apple, in fact).

 

[Paddle1]

Only one that makes no sense at all is Game Center, its worse than the current one.

Have you seen the Game Center app?

 

[cleo1]

Have you seen the Game Center app?

Notice how the bubbles pulsate ever-so-slightly in their resting state. Cutting edge of gui design if you ask me.

 

[cleo1]

I find it comical that those who pretext their icon commentary with "I'm a designer, and" tend to be the most vociferous and extreme-viewed. In statistics we call them outliers. A generous view is that with expertise comes tunnel vision, but anyone who's seen American Idol knows there's no shortage of schadenfreude when it comes to those who would preface their musical commentary with "I'm a singer, and". Reminds me of the Marshall McLuhan sequence in Annie Hall.

 

[notrack]

Why because they can't grow on people? Or shock an horror! somebody actually doesn't hate them (or doesn't care one way or the other)?

Because I think "growing on me" means that you are going through a process of learning to accept them. If you liked them or if they were "ok", you wouldn't need a while to settle for it. It seems like people are making the best out of a disappointing situation. (Note, it's just my personal impression.)

 

[Feltzem]

I still hate Mail (that gradient!), Weather, Photos and Game Center. The rest are fine (not great, but fine).