I was skeptical. Two cubes sat side-by-side, looking like stripped-down 3D printers. I sat in front of one as instructed, and reached my hand inside, toward a floating disembodied finger. Just at the moment I knew I’d stab through the illusion, I had the ultimate “E.T. phone home” moment—I swear I could feel the other…
After wearing my Apple watch daily for the past two+ months, I’ve found myself wishing for a simpler interaction model for moving between content and apps. Here’s what I’d propose and why.
Will the Apple Watch be so radically different we won’t understand how to use it at first? Perhaps so: Apple has produced a series of videos to teach Watch-wearers how the interface will work—videos which give us the best look yet at what our wrist-computer future might hold. (They also double as handy marketing…
Just a year and a half ago, we noted the demise of skeuomorphism in Apple interface design. Today, Co.Design's John Brownlee points out that "the most-hated design trend" is back with Apple Watch's clock-like interface. But skeuomorphism never really went away. In fact, we should all hope it never does.
Something I was watching closely as the Apple Watch was revealed today: Which typeface would grace this shiny, tiny new device? Well, it's not Helvetica, the troublesome font that Apple recently adopted for its iOS and OS applications. It's a brand-new typeface that was designed for excellent readability—by Apple.
It was one of the more subtle changes showcased during yesterday's WWDC keynote: Apple finally ditched its OS typeface Lucida Grande to use Helvetica Neue across the board. Now, at least the OS and iOS systems match. But is Helvetica—which is basically unreadable at small sizes—really a better choice?
Not even those who worked on the Oscar-nominated film Her are sure exactly how near we are to the near-future depicted in the movie. "I think the idea of the near-future is that you can't predict the pace of technology," says graphic designer Geoff McFetridge, who designed the interfaces for the film.
This time, just a year ago, very few people knew the terms “skeuomorphism” and “flat design." We complained about the kind of leathery design of some apps on iOS and OS X, but in general, the UI of Apple’s mobile operating system was just fine. Then, in just a few weeks, everything changed—and suddenly flat design was …
As the Great Google+ Migration begins—at least among geeks and the "geekerati"—it's still pretty great to see it getting things right on its first go. All the more interesting to see it get something wrong.
A well-designed website should be clear, above all. No flashing GIFs (we miss you, 90s!), no obnoxious flash menus, no overwhelming lists of links. And heads up, WaPo website: it shouldn't be blanketed in insanely redundant Facebook sharing buttons.
