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> Basically, users perceive your product to be more usable if it's aesthetically pleasing. On the other side, it will be less usable while i have to relearn ho

> Basically, users perceive your product to be more usable if it's aesthetically pleasing. On the other side, it will be less usable while i have to relearn how to use it. This is not an issue if it happens from time to time, you pay upfront a decrease of productivity and will be rewarded greatly later on. But in the era of SaaS we are constantly subject to a stream of redesigns, sometimes small, other times global. You cannot finish adapting to a change that another comes. I don't know about others, but for me is deeply frustrating.

speedplane 8y ago
I don't mind functional UI updates (e.g., adding a search bar, when previously you had to scroll). But design changes are made simply for design purposes by big-tech companies are frustrating because when they do an update, it puts pressure on everyone else to follow their design to avoid looking out of date. For example, just a few months ago, Google used square rectangles for the search bar, and advocated "cards" with sharp corners in their material design standards. However, just recently, they updated gmail and google search to use rounded rectangles in the search bar instead of rectangles. Are rectangles better or worse than rounded rectangles? Yes? No? The answer is, it doesn't matter for usability. But because Google is so big and has such influence, now, if your site uses a rectangular search bar with sharp corners users will perceive it as "dated". There are many similar examples of this. Microsoft's metro UI was cool and popular for maybe a full 6 months. Clean Helvetica font was everyone's aspiration, then Google pushed Lato, and now it's Robato, until they change their mind again. Small 11pt font used to be the norm, then very large readable 14pt font was the norm, and now we're back to something like 12pt. Single page applications a while ago were avoided, then became so popular they were effectively a pre-requisite, and now they should only be used "where appropriate". I think Google make these changes not to make their site look good and refreshing, but to make everyone else's look old and dated.
- hopler 8y ago
  Round rects are better. Apple established that 30 years ago. Sharp corners are a fad that Microsoft(!) started with Windows Phone/10 just to be different from Apple (their chronic problem of trying to compete by doing randomly different things) and the Googlee going for it with cards, before they realized rounded rects are preferred for a reason. (And cards, what an innovation, copying the original desktop application GUI language from cascading/tiling window systems and HyperCard
  - user5994461 8y ago
    Why is it better? What is the reason it's preferred?
    - Spooky23 8y ago
      It’s less visually jarring and doesn’t feel malleable. Find another human interface that consists of sharp edged shapes. That design aesthetic is like brutalist UI. Pretty for the architect, but few others are moved.
      - ferongr 8y ago
        Please provide proof.
      - renox 8y ago
        Uh? The reasons you're giving don't feel very convincing.. (I have no opinion on what is better)
      - speedplane 8y ago
        It's not at all obvious that rounded rectangles are superior to sharp edges. Sharp edges convey precision, rounded edges convey approximation. Many mechanical knobs and buttons have clear notches and clicks to make clear to the user they are in control of the machine.
  - speedplane 8y ago
    > Round rects are better. Apple established that 30 years ago. They did? Their iPhones went from rounded corners, to sharp corners, back to rounded corners again. Apple design is impressive, but I don't see any timeless consistency.

speedplane 8y ago

I don't mind functional UI updates (e.g., adding a search bar, when previously you had to scroll). But design changes are made simply for design purposes by big-tech companies are frustrating because when they do an update, it puts pressure on everyone else to follow their design to avoid looking out of date. For example, just a few months ago, Google used square rectangles for the search bar, and advocated "cards" with sharp corners in their material design standards. However, just recently, they updated gmail and google search to use rounded rectangles in the search bar instead of rectangles. Are rectangles better or worse than rounded rectangles? Yes? No? The answer is, it doesn't matter for usability. But because Google is so big and has such influence, now, if your site uses a rectangular search bar with sharp corners users will perceive it as "dated". There are many similar examples of this. Microsoft's metro UI was cool and popular for maybe a full 6 months. Clean Helvetica font was everyone's aspiration, then Google pushed Lato, and now it's Robato, until they change their mind again. Small 11pt font used to be the norm, then very large readable 14pt font was the norm, and now we're back to something like 12pt. Single page applications a while ago were avoided, then became so popular they were effectively a pre-requisite, and now they should only be used "where appropriate". I think Google make these changes not to make their site look good and refreshing, but to make everyone else's look old and dated.

hopler 8y ago
Round rects are better. Apple established that 30 years ago. Sharp corners are a fad that Microsoft(!) started with Windows Phone/10 just to be different from Apple (their chronic problem of trying to compete by doing randomly different things) and the Googlee going for it with cards, before they realized rounded rects are preferred for a reason. (And cards, what an innovation, copying the original desktop application GUI language from cascading/tiling window systems and HyperCard
- user5994461 8y ago
  Why is it better? What is the reason it's preferred?
  - Spooky23 8y ago
    It’s less visually jarring and doesn’t feel malleable. Find another human interface that consists of sharp edged shapes. That design aesthetic is like brutalist UI. Pretty for the architect, but few others are moved.
    - ferongr 8y ago
      Please provide proof.
    - renox 8y ago
      Uh? The reasons you're giving don't feel very convincing.. (I have no opinion on what is better)
    - speedplane 8y ago
      It's not at all obvious that rounded rectangles are superior to sharp edges. Sharp edges convey precision, rounded edges convey approximation. Many mechanical knobs and buttons have clear notches and clicks to make clear to the user they are in control of the machine.
- speedplane 8y ago
  > Round rects are better. Apple established that 30 years ago. They did? Their iPhones went from rounded corners, to sharp corners, back to rounded corners again. Apple design is impressive, but I don't see any timeless consistency.