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Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

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Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#101

Post by joshtynjala »

jsnell wrote: post #23

Is the distinction between Android and iOS here maybe that iOS supports only a limited number of horizontal resolutions? At least on my Android phone, the rightmost element ends up at the screen edge with no padding, with a similar effect as the cut off icon. (I.e. a design that's appropriate in a tightly controlled homogenous environment might not be any good in a mixed one.)

Ideally, the layout would adjust the spacing between items, so that one item is always partially cut off. I don't know whether Apple does that or not (or if it's their small number of possible iOS device resolutions, like you suggested). However, that seems like something that Google should consider as a way to improve the Android experience.

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#102

Post by datavirtue »

logbiscuitswave wrote: post #92
DonHopkins wrote: post #60

The original Mac would pop up a dialog with a threatening icon of a bomb with a lit fuse, whenever it crashed! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomb_(icon) >The Bomb icon is a symbol designed by Susan Kare that was displayed inside the System Error alert box when the "classic" Macintosh operating system (pre-Mac OS X) had a crash which the system decided was unrecoverable. It was similar to a dialog box in Windows 9x th…

Not sure if you’re being serious or not, but these stories seem awfully apocryphal to me. I can’t imagine anybody - not even a total novice - running away from their computer upon seeing a cartoony image of a bomb. It reminds me of the made-up but often used story of terrified audiences running for the exits upon watching a film of a train for the first time.

Nope. I too have seen users freak out about illegal operations.

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#103

Post by datavirtue »

recursivedoubts wrote: post #2

UI affordances have been going away for a long time. FlatUI was the first nearly universal obviously-user-hostile movement. It happened out of boredom and the slow intrusion of the contempt-for-the-audience attitude of art and architecture into web design. Unfortunately, unlike art, we can't ignore architecture or UI design.

It happened out of an explosion of pretentious eccentricity flowing out of people who never sat with a user.

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#104

Post by logbiscuitswave »

pram wrote: post #100
logbiscuitswave wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you’re being serious or not, but these stories seem awfully apocryphal to me. I can’t imagine anybody - not even a total novice - running away from their computer upon seeing a cartoony image of a bomb. It reminds me of the made-up but often used story of terrified audiences running for the exits upon watching a film of a train for the first time.

It seems kinda hyperbolic, but then again the death chime on Power Macs scared the hell out of me as a kid.

Some of those death chimes were pretty ominous! Depending on the model, there there a few different dirges, breaking glass, car crashes, and others. You knew you were in for a bad time.

https://512pixels.net/2021/04/mac-chimes-of-death/

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#105

Post by mkr-hn »

lelanthran wrote: post #90
todfox wrote: post #5

For more of these daily annoyances: https://grumpy.website The growing user hostility of UIs makes me want to stop developing software and even stop using computers. I started using computers because they made more sense to me than a lot of things. Now, I'm encountering these little moments of illogic and unreason every hour of the day. It's not just beginners who need little cues. I'm deeply familiar with the APIs b…

There used to be a Hall of Shame for GUIs on the web that I used to read around 2002 or thereabouts. Very similar to this, only for native programs.

Is it one of these?

https://wiby.me/?q=hall+of+shame

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#107

Post by datavirtue »

makecheck wrote: post #77
recursivedoubts wrote: post #2

UI affordances have been going away for a long time. FlatUI was the first nearly universal obviously-user-hostile movement. It happened out of boredom and the slow intrusion of the contempt-for-the-audience attitude of art and architecture into web design. Unfortunately, unlike art, we can't ignore architecture or UI design.

I think the saddest thing about “flat” designs is that technology is incredibly capable of delivering so much more. Sure, in 1988 we only had a few colors available in hardware so maybe a button had no choice but to be one boring solid color. In 2021, though?!? Ultra-high resolutions, massive color palettes, photo-realism has never been easier to achieve (even in 3D!!!), all this computing power, and then these overp…

I have been wishing for a return to monochrome (green and orange) so that we can from our UIs again. You know it's bad when people are fantasizing about mainframe terminals.

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#108

Post by jwr »

armchairhacker wrote: post #84

Honestly I don't think minimalism is the issue. And I love skeuomorphism, even the overdone Apple version. Minimalism is ugly but when done right, it's actually one of the clearest UXs possible: only focusing on the content and guides, no weird extras, and every design decision is meaningful because you only get a few. Issues with today's UX are: more dark patterns, more people making apps easier (= more less experie…

I think the issue is that modern interfaces are self-centered. Or rather, the designers are self-centered: they believe that the world revolves around them, and Their Magnificent Design is the One Thing that everyone will want to learn, appreciate and admire.

In reality, their design is one more thing among the hundreds or thousands of things that a user manages, and should mostly serve to get other things done.

It's more about hubris than minimalism.

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#109

Post by datavirtue »

atatatat wrote: post #37
mikelward wrote: post #21

The share sheet on Android is super confusing. It doesn't help that several apps implement their own, and some of them scroll horizontally while others scroll vertically. Edit: apparently they're forcing apps to use the native share sheet in Android 12? https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/06/01/android-12-will-spe...

Only one problem with the Share dialog: Doesn't "hint" at horizontal scrollability, just shows four apps as if that's all there is. I've seen this trip up advanced users and parents alike.

I build mobile and web apps--full stack on many platforms and I was severely tripped up by that shitty share menu. On your first use if you have to think about it the UI sucks. Period.

Re: Whatever Happened to UI Affordances?

#110

Post by Izkata »

datavirtue wrote: post #102
logbiscuitswave wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you’re being serious or not, but these stories seem awfully apocryphal to me. I can’t imagine anybody - not even a total novice - running away from their computer upon seeing a cartoony image of a bomb. It reminds me of the made-up but often used story of terrified audiences running for the exits upon watching a film of a train for the first time.

Nope. I too have seen users freak out about illegal operations.

I was that user as a kid.
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