Designs that made me think #1
Design by itself is often reduced to visuals, the word is heavily associated with looks, but in combination with other words it suddenly brings out complexity and variety, e.g. system design, user interface design, game design. Design unites by bringing intentionality in the process of creation, not by references to visuals. Bad design leads to confusion, it breaks down a wall and forces users to think about the designer’s intention, rather than their own goal. Good design, tailors the intention to the need and presents it in a clear, easy to pick up almost in a natural way. Obviously most design is in between, and I’ve learned that labeling things as good or bad is a waste of energy. Noticing things and analysing the intention behind, trying to figure out what works and doesn’t seems more useful. Less dramatic, but more useful.
These designs made me sit back and think recently.
YouTube mini player
I noticed that YouTube tried a few different things lately, when it comes to the mini player UI, on iOS. It’s pretty fun to experience these changes, it exposes a bit of the thought process and potential directions they’re trying.
However, in this last version I keep closing the mini player accidentally, instead of pausing/playing. I thought then, why does my hand go mechanically for the icon on the right? What trained me to do this?YouTube’s navigation icons are placed at the top left, usually as back or minimise (the comments bottom sheet is an exception though).
That might have something to do with it, combined with seeing this pattern across other apps and being biased by the visual library I’ve recently looked at more closely; Material, new and older version with the main action on the right.
KLM live activity
I assume it’s pretty fun to design with these brand colours. That sky blue seems to work nicely on large elements, at least that was my first thought when seeing the live activity, for the first time somehow. Although visually nice at a glance, one thing ruined it for me. The countdown to boarding time. Seeing my time to board ticking down every second was really stressful really quickly, so I swiped it away back into the iOS abyss. KLM’s intention was good, but unfortunately communicated the wrong way.
Uber animation
I tend to spend an unusual amount of time roaming through different app menus, usually to see how they arrange secondary information. It feels like I’m visiting some deserted section of a museum. I’m often surprised how deep these menus and features go. This time I noticed that Uber shows a short animation when tapping on the “Estimated CO2 saved” section. Prior to thinking about its legitimacy or usefulness, getting the information this way was a fun little surprise. Not sure about seeing it every time I open it though…which maybe says something about how much they expect people to really look at this?
