Lion’s Refined Clarity ⇥ lmnt.me
Can we please have the macOS X Lion UI back? 😍
Kyle Halevi (I trimmed the URL):
@realmacdan I redrew more than just Lion, see here:
There’s a refined clarity to this version of Aqua. It evolved gracefully to this point, where every element was distinctly different and yet cohesive. Consider the search field alone. Now, search fields have the same appearance of every other field: squared. The pill shape distinguished itself. Removing that characteristic introduced a level of ambiguity that is unnecessary. The same can be said for so much in modern visual design (or lack thereof).
When Mac OS X Lion was released, John Siracusa wrote imagined “three dials labeled ‘color,’ ‘contrast,’ and ‘contour,'” saying “Apple has been turning them down slowly for years. Lion accelerates that process”. At the time, we had no idea how much closer to zero Apple would take those dials. Now, we know — and for the same apparent reason. Siracusa, again:
Apple says that its goal with the Lion user interface was to highlight content by de-emphasizing the surrounding user interface elements.
Alan Dye, introducing MacOS Big Sur:
We’ve reduced visual complexity to keep the focus on user’s content.
The thing about this explanation that frustrates most is that while we are sometimes merely viewing something, we are very often doing something with it. The reason there is a visual interface with controls and structure is because the computer is a tool.
You know how many stoves have implemented some form of touch-based controls which sometimes dim or recede? They always look more clever than they are to actually use. A physical knob is more utilitarian, and much better for its purpose. MacOS — and its users — would benefit from similar clarity and obvious controls, even if it comes at the cost of adding more shapes and colours.