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I think there is a balance between something that looks like Apple Music and an excel spreadsheet full of information. Apple Music is way out of the normal den

I think there is a balance between something that looks like Apple Music and an excel spreadsheet full of information. Apple Music is way out of the normal density expected from a quality app. Apple has a phenomenal understanding of UI and they're one of the best - just look at the UI of the settings menu on your iPhone. Everything is cleanly laid out - just the right amount of information density. Apple Music seems like it was designed by someone like Will-I-Am (sorry :-) ) with absolutely zero understanding of basic functional UI principles. If I were to design UI, I'd design it like how aviation does cockpits. Functional, not "trendy". Everything has a reason - if you can't explain "WHY", you shouldn't be designing UI. Personal taste, subjective opinions, "I kinda like it that way" doesn't work in aviation industry. Please don't take it as I mean Apple to follow the same principles, I am just mentioning the other end of the spectrum in UI design to provide contrast.

asimpletune 9y ago
Then do it! I’d be super interested to see what you come up with. Even if it’s drawn on paper.
pducks32 9y ago
I’m not a designer but I’ve thought a lot about this just cuz I find it interesting from a data organization POV and I like music. I think Apple deserves some credit in terms of this. Music.app is no iTunes but ask Siri who plays the drums and her answer is great. It’s bad at the difference between Studio Album and album of 1 song/remixes etc. if you have an idea how you’d like it laid out I would be interested to see.
on_and_off 9y ago
>Everything has a reason - if you can't explain "WHY", you shouldn't be designing UI . oh UI design in such an app always has a why Before doing any modification on the UI of such an app, a lot of attention is given to user data. It can't be completely objective because at the end of the day any interpretation of user data is at least a bit subjective (and generally way more than that). It does aim at being data driven though.
- 220V_USKettle 9y ago
  How does one prevent data-driven design from becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy?
  - pjmlp 9y ago
    A/B testing with groups of random people put together in a room, using unreleased versions of the application.
  - on_and_off 9y ago
    You don't :/ Again at some point there is a part of subjectivity in how you analyze the dataset. It is still better than having no idea what your users are doing with your product.
usaphp 9y ago
> If I were to design UI, I'd design it like how aviation does cockpits. You seem to not understand the difference between designing UI for professional use where a user has to spend countless hours learning where each button is compared to an app for general population where users have to figure things out on their own. Try to put an average joe into a jet cockpit, he would not understand a single thing, and he should NOT. You have to emphasize the most used features and elements with bigger font or negative white space in order for people to better understand where they should start and then walk their way into deeper understanding. In a fighter jet cockpit most of the buttons have identical look and it’s impossible to get started without reading a manual.
- fermienrico 9y ago
  You indeed make very good points. I was hesitant to making the cockpit analogy but I did say that this NOT how Apple should design their UI. I was merely pointing out the other end of the spectrum in UI design space. Everything you’re saying is absolutely true. UI design for masses is different than for a fighter pilot. I think Apple Music app is one of the worst even considering for the masses. Just look at their competitor - Spotify and learn from how they’ve designed for the masses. Apple Music arguably fails at meeting the basic UI expectations from a company, ironically, that values design immensely.
rootusrootus 9y ago
At the risk of being downvoted into oblivion for going off on a tangent... since you mentioned the iPhone settings menu: Why is it that in some places there is a setting with a off/on toggle on the right, and in other places there is a setting that takes you to a sub-page with only a off/on toggle? For a current example, the Handoff menu under General. While I agree they generally do a better than average job with UI, I've never really understood why the settings app has this inconsistency. It's been this way for many versions. Rant over. Though not really a rant anyway, it doesn't make me mad, just puzzled.
- kccqzy 9y ago
  Probably because those pages with just a single toggle requires more explanation about what the toggle does, and thus the explanation doesn't really fit with other settings.
  - always_good 9y ago
    Also, just like how it's easier to add a modal than integrate more state into the underlying view, it's easier to add a new view controller to your xcode storyboard for an interaction. For example, as you note, you have space to describe it and add possibly more UI to the feature. And in a future pass, you can decide to fold it back in to the existing UI and solidify it there. But that pass isn't necessarily worth it.
- mgkimsal 9y ago
  my theory is that more stuff was planned and/or is on the way, or... some features might be availablr only in certain areas or hardware combos. some menus you see might have multiple options for some other variants; for your device, it's just the one.

asimpletune 9y ago

Then do it! I’d be super interested to see what you come up with. Even if it’s drawn on paper.

pducks32 9y ago

I’m not a designer but I’ve thought a lot about this just cuz I find it interesting from a data organization POV and I like music. I think Apple deserves some credit in terms of this. Music.app is no iTunes but ask Siri who plays the drums and her answer is great. It’s bad at the difference between Studio Album and album of 1 song/remixes etc. if you have an idea how you’d like it laid out I would be interested to see.

on_and_off 9y ago

>Everything has a reason - if you can't explain "WHY", you shouldn't be designing UI . oh UI design in such an app always has a why Before doing any modification on the UI of such an app, a lot of attention is given to user data. It can't be completely objective because at the end of the day any interpretation of user data is at least a bit subjective (and generally way more than that). It does aim at being data driven though.

220V_USKettle 9y ago
How does one prevent data-driven design from becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy?
- pjmlp 9y ago
  A/B testing with groups of random people put together in a room, using unreleased versions of the application.
- on_and_off 9y ago
  You don't :/ Again at some point there is a part of subjectivity in how you analyze the dataset. It is still better than having no idea what your users are doing with your product.

usaphp 9y ago

> If I were to design UI, I'd design it like how aviation does cockpits. You seem to not understand the difference between designing UI for professional use where a user has to spend countless hours learning where each button is compared to an app for general population where users have to figure things out on their own. Try to put an average joe into a jet cockpit, he would not understand a single thing, and he should NOT. You have to emphasize the most used features and elements with bigger font or negative white space in order for people to better understand where they should start and then walk their way into deeper understanding. In a fighter jet cockpit most of the buttons have identical look and it’s impossible to get started without reading a manual.

fermienrico 9y ago
You indeed make very good points. I was hesitant to making the cockpit analogy but I did say that this NOT how Apple should design their UI. I was merely pointing out the other end of the spectrum in UI design space. Everything you’re saying is absolutely true. UI design for masses is different than for a fighter pilot. I think Apple Music app is one of the worst even considering for the masses. Just look at their competitor - Spotify and learn from how they’ve designed for the masses. Apple Music arguably fails at meeting the basic UI expectations from a company, ironically, that values design immensely.

rootusrootus 9y ago

At the risk of being downvoted into oblivion for going off on a tangent... since you mentioned the iPhone settings menu: Why is it that in some places there is a setting with a off/on toggle on the right, and in other places there is a setting that takes you to a sub-page with only a off/on toggle? For a current example, the Handoff menu under General. While I agree they generally do a better than average job with UI, I've never really understood why the settings app has this inconsistency. It's been this way for many versions. Rant over. Though not really a rant anyway, it doesn't make me mad, just puzzled.

kccqzy 9y ago
Probably because those pages with just a single toggle requires more explanation about what the toggle does, and thus the explanation doesn't really fit with other settings.
- always_good 9y ago
  Also, just like how it's easier to add a modal than integrate more state into the underlying view, it's easier to add a new view controller to your xcode storyboard for an interaction. For example, as you note, you have space to describe it and add possibly more UI to the feature. And in a future pass, you can decide to fold it back in to the existing UI and solidify it there. But that pass isn't necessarily worth it.
mgkimsal 9y ago
my theory is that more stuff was planned and/or is on the way, or... some features might be availablr only in certain areas or hardware combos. some menus you see might have multiple options for some other variants; for your device, it's just the one.