…Because everyone who knows anything about design knows that skeuomorphism is, like, the worst.
This week, Apple gave the world its first peek at iOS 7, the software that will power iPhones and iPads starting later this year.
Helmed by hardware guru Jony Ive, the update will bring the most dramatic visual overhaul of Apple’s mobile OS to date. As expected, it embraces a flat aesthetic that allows for layering based on functionality. For example, you can peek behind icons to see your wall paper. So while the UI may be flat, the UX is anything but.
Just how different is iOS 7 compared to the software we’re running now? Take a look for yourself.
The Next Big UI Idea: Gadgets That Adapt To Your Skill
More and more interactive products are being returned. In 2002, 48% of all returned products were technically fully functional but were rejected for failing to satisfy user needs (28%) or purely due to users’ remorse (20%). Even though a product may have all the features one can hope for, complexity and bad user experience can prevent users from integrating it into their lives.
User experiences are subjective and dynamic, but by and large, interactive products are not designed to take people’s changing capacity and experience into account. But they could.
Here, I present a model for how designers can use the fundamentals of video games and the psychological principles of flow to design enhanced user experiences.
As gadgets get more complicated, user interfaces must be able to teach their users over time.
Here is how Philip Battin thinks this can happen.
Leap Motion, a San Francisco startup has created a device (“the Leap”) that lets you control your computer just my moving your fingers over it, as if you were using a touchscreen in the air.
Leap Motion is now taking pre-orders for the $69.99 device but won’t begin shipping it until the end of this year or early 2013. The company is also opening up its developer ecosystem to give software makers a head start on developing new applications.
This Gizmo Lets You Draw A UI On Paper, Then Turns It Into A Touch Screen
Instagram’s co-founder Mike Krieger lifted the curtain on three of their backend (and UI) tricks that give the Instagram user a feeling of responsiveness, even when someone’s phone is trapped on a lousy connection. The ideas aren’t just clever; they’re so logical that you don’t need to be a coder to appreciate them. Read on->
So what did the designers at Google actually do not just to make their product so much more beautiful, but so much more beautiful than Facebook? Co.Design talked to Google+ lead designer Fred Gilbert to unpack the subtle brilliance behind their awesome redesign—a redesign that was completed in less than two months—and his notes are full of lessons that could hone the experience of almost any product.
4 Key Insights From The 57-Day, Blitzkrieg Redesign Of Google+
Is Foursquare becoming a better recommendation engine than Yelp?
Foursquare Solves A Basic UI Problem That Eludes Google Maps And Yelp
UI Magic: This Tiny Mic Turns Any Surface Into A Touch Interface
Yes, I said “microphone.”
Say what now?!
“Companies from GE on down are desperate to hire UI designers. Few know what they do.”
Scott Snibbe’s OscilloScoop app, a product of 15 years of research (and input from Brian Eno), lets you sculpt electronic soundscapes out of spinning shapes. Watch it in action!
