4 ms·

There is no design trend I hate more than buttons redesigned to look like normal(not even clickable) text. Simply insane. Flat designs represented by these scr

by zaidf 13y ago

There is no design trend I hate more than buttons redesigned to look like normal(not even clickable) text. Simply insane. Flat designs represented by these screenshots are a depressing step back in usability.

wahnfrieden 13y ago
Please note what Apple is now calling the tint color, used to signify a tappable button, much like blue text on the web means it's a link. You think the web is "simply insane" now that most have abandoned underlines?
- brymaster 13y ago
  Hyperlink vs an actual button is not a good comparison. You don't have a mouse on iOS to hover over things to see if they're 'touchable' or not. Bad design is still bad design even if the cool kids are doing it. You should note that on the web many have abandoned the hyperlink for graphics that represent buttons: http://getbootstrap.com/getting-started/#examples http://getbootstrap.com/getting-started/#examples
  - wahnfrieden 13y ago
    There's no mouse to use to hover on mobile or tablet devices on the web, either. I haven't seen any push for change in how hyperlinks work on the web now that mobile/tablet is a common client. Stretching the concept a little here, but design that hinges on being able to hover the mouse to detect possible interaction reminds me of those dreadful 90's web menus where you had to hover to see the title. In your linked example, there are as many or more hyperlinks that don't appear as buttons. The button styling in those examples indicates "primary call to action" more than anything. A page that uses button styling for every single hyperlink would be a mess. The iOS 7 styling for "primary call to action" is to make the tinted text bold, rather than giving it a background color, though that's used in some different areas too under different context. PS, a side note that these are 3rd party examples of iOS 7 UI. Certain things are going to be misused or overused etc.
    - zaidf 13y ago
      No one suggested buttons where links suffice. On the otherhand, if you think a bolded link is a good replacement for an action button like "submit", lets agree to disagree.
      - wahnfrieden 13y ago
        Not claiming one is better than the other, just pointing out how semantics have changed with this new model.
- petilon 13y ago
  When you have an app as well as a website, users generally prefer the app because it has a better experience. Even if your website is mobile optimized, users prefer native apps, at least on iOS. I suspect part of the reason is that iOS widgets (at least until iOS 6.x) are more intuitive than HTML. iOS 7 seems to eliminate this advantage, and Apple has given up much of the differentiation. iOS 7 looks closer to Windows Phone and Android, and even web, so it is unclear whether going forward, users will continue to prefer apps over websites by the same margin.
  - wahnfrieden 13y ago
    I'm with you on users generally preferring app versions. It's IMO a huge jump to say that it's because iOS 6 UI is intuitive. Users go through a lot of training, more than they may realize: friends showing their iPhones, ads on TV showing the iPhone being used, some UI concepts borrowed from the desktop paradigm people are already used to, and just that once a UI has been in the mainstream's attention for six years, people are going to have had a lot of exposure to it. After all that it's easy to say it feels intuitive. There are intuitive elements but don't overlook the amount of "training" that happens. Responsiveness is another reason native apps tend to win out. iOS adds delays when tapping links in Mobile Safari, etc. Users also have expectations of consistent behavior for native apps, unlike the web which is its own diverse platform - iOS 7 resembles web UI in some ways, but don't forget the hundreds of pages of human interface guidelines it comes with.

by zaidf 13y ago

wahnfrieden 13y ago

Please note what Apple is now calling the tint color, used to signify a tappable button, much like blue text on the web means it's a link. You think the web is "simply insane" now that most have abandoned underlines?

brymaster 13y ago
Hyperlink vs an actual button is not a good comparison. You don't have a mouse on iOS to hover over things to see if they're 'touchable' or not. Bad design is still bad design even if the cool kids are doing it. You should note that on the web many have abandoned the hyperlink for graphics that represent buttons: http://getbootstrap.com/getting-started/#examples http://getbootstrap.com/getting-started/#examples
- wahnfrieden 13y ago
  There's no mouse to use to hover on mobile or tablet devices on the web, either. I haven't seen any push for change in how hyperlinks work on the web now that mobile/tablet is a common client. Stretching the concept a little here, but design that hinges on being able to hover the mouse to detect possible interaction reminds me of those dreadful 90's web menus where you had to hover to see the title. In your linked example, there are as many or more hyperlinks that don't appear as buttons. The button styling in those examples indicates "primary call to action" more than anything. A page that uses button styling for every single hyperlink would be a mess. The iOS 7 styling for "primary call to action" is to make the tinted text bold, rather than giving it a background color, though that's used in some different areas too under different context. PS, a side note that these are 3rd party examples of iOS 7 UI. Certain things are going to be misused or overused etc.
  - zaidf 13y ago
    No one suggested buttons where links suffice. On the otherhand, if you think a bolded link is a good replacement for an action button like "submit", lets agree to disagree.
    - wahnfrieden 13y ago
      Not claiming one is better than the other, just pointing out how semantics have changed with this new model.
petilon 13y ago
When you have an app as well as a website, users generally prefer the app because it has a better experience. Even if your website is mobile optimized, users prefer native apps, at least on iOS. I suspect part of the reason is that iOS widgets (at least until iOS 6.x) are more intuitive than HTML. iOS 7 seems to eliminate this advantage, and Apple has given up much of the differentiation. iOS 7 looks closer to Windows Phone and Android, and even web, so it is unclear whether going forward, users will continue to prefer apps over websites by the same margin.
- wahnfrieden 13y ago
  I'm with you on users generally preferring app versions. It's IMO a huge jump to say that it's because iOS 6 UI is intuitive. Users go through a lot of training, more than they may realize: friends showing their iPhones, ads on TV showing the iPhone being used, some UI concepts borrowed from the desktop paradigm people are already used to, and just that once a UI has been in the mainstream's attention for six years, people are going to have had a lot of exposure to it. After all that it's easy to say it feels intuitive. There are intuitive elements but don't overlook the amount of "training" that happens. Responsiveness is another reason native apps tend to win out. iOS adds delays when tapping links in Mobile Safari, etc. Users also have expectations of consistent behavior for native apps, unlike the web which is its own diverse platform - iOS 7 resembles web UI in some ways, but don't forget the hundreds of pages of human interface guidelines it comes with.