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I assume you mean not just the aesthetics, but the entire UI/UX, and I agree. Calibre is a very powerful and capable app, hindered by its unintuitive and clunky

I assume you mean not just the aesthetics, but the entire UI/UX, and I agree. Calibre is a very powerful and capable app, hindered by its unintuitive and clunky UI.

asimpletune 3y ago
The UI is actually fine to me. I say that as someone who uses it a lot though. What specifically do you not like about it?
- Cockbrand 3y ago
  The UI does not conform to any UI guidelines known to me, certainly not the macOS ones. In fact, the macOS UI guidelines are violated in a lot of places (e.g. icons in menus). The icons themselves are unfamiliar and kinda random, also with distracting colors. There are way too many options directly available, making the UI complicated and intimidating. I'd like the UI to be much sleeker and opinionated towards the layperson. Like I said, Calibre is a very powerful tool, and I appreciate that. Its advanced features are very welcome, but they should be presented differently in the UI.
- jwells89 3y ago
  Speaking personally it doesn’t seem to be designed with the same principles/patterns of most software out there (regardless of platform or era), making its UI operate in ways that run counter to expectations. It’s an odd duck, which doesn’t make it bad but does greatly increase friction in usage.
- starkparker 3y ago
  Calibre has a "good UI" the way GIMP and QGIS have "good UI"s. They're opinionated, idiosyncratic power tools in spaces where a large part of the audience don't want to learn a UI that doesn't resemble those of more popular or initiative tools in the same space. It took me the better part of the year to figure out how and why QGIS wouldn't just let me draw geometry like I can in a vector drawing tool. I still have to read the docs every time to figure out most selection manipulation actions in GIMP or decode the icons. With Calibre and GIMP in particular, most people don't need most of its functionality, and easier but weaker tools exist that can do the same things. Almost all of my image editing is in Krita now because it's about as powerful and much more intuitive. If Citadel becomes the Krita of ebook readers, I'd readily use it just on the UI even if it's just as unstable.

I assume you mean not just the aesthetics, but the entire UI/UX, and I agree. Calibre is a very powerful and capable app, hindered by its unintuitive and clunky UI.

asimpletune 3y ago

The UI is actually fine to me. I say that as someone who uses it a lot though. What specifically do you not like about it?

Cockbrand 3y ago
The UI does not conform to any UI guidelines known to me, certainly not the macOS ones. In fact, the macOS UI guidelines are violated in a lot of places (e.g. icons in menus). The icons themselves are unfamiliar and kinda random, also with distracting colors. There are way too many options directly available, making the UI complicated and intimidating. I'd like the UI to be much sleeker and opinionated towards the layperson. Like I said, Calibre is a very powerful tool, and I appreciate that. Its advanced features are very welcome, but they should be presented differently in the UI.
jwells89 3y ago
Speaking personally it doesn’t seem to be designed with the same principles/patterns of most software out there (regardless of platform or era), making its UI operate in ways that run counter to expectations. It’s an odd duck, which doesn’t make it bad but does greatly increase friction in usage.
starkparker 3y ago
Calibre has a "good UI" the way GIMP and QGIS have "good UI"s. They're opinionated, idiosyncratic power tools in spaces where a large part of the audience don't want to learn a UI that doesn't resemble those of more popular or initiative tools in the same space. It took me the better part of the year to figure out how and why QGIS wouldn't just let me draw geometry like I can in a vector drawing tool. I still have to read the docs every time to figure out most selection manipulation actions in GIMP or decode the icons. With Calibre and GIMP in particular, most people don't need most of its functionality, and easier but weaker tools exist that can do the same things. Almost all of my image editing is in Krita now because it's about as powerful and much more intuitive. If Citadel becomes the Krita of ebook readers, I'd readily use it just on the UI even if it's just as unstable.