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I’ve written before about the fact that what some people see as Google’s interface design minimalism is I see as poor design but it struck me again today when I was in Google+.
Google+ itself has a very nicely designed Circles interface which was designed by Andy Hertzfeld, a member of the original Macintosh team and one of the finest interface designers in the industry. Andy’s General Magic tablets were ahead of their time, and it’s taken decades to catch up.
There are two main when you post to Google+. The first lets you choose the audience for your post (basically letting you choose which circles or members who will see it.) The second actually publishes your post. These two buttons directly adjacent vertically in the interface: there’s almost no space between them..
The buttons are also both the same colour.
The end result is two buttons that are visually indistinct and so close together that muscle memory alone doesn’t guarantee a correct click.
I’m not sure if someone intended to do this, or if it was just an oversight. it could have happened with two separate teams working in tandem, I suppose. Either way, it seems obvious that different colours should have been used here. I’m surprised it hasn’t been fixed yet.
Posted by skooter at 8:11 PM
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Tags: Google, Interaction Design, Social Media, social networking, Usability
Well, I didn’t see this coming. Funnily enough it was a topic of conversation at a barbecue at a friend’s house on Monday night.
Steve Jobs’ announcement that he’s stepping as CEO of Apple had the world abuzz today. Not just the tech-world either, but the whole world. I could literally hear the rumour spreading across the floor at the software company I work at. It was amazing.
The Internet will be—who’s kidding who, already is—overwhelmed with content which means this little note will disappear under a swarm of bits that Google deems more important.
With that in mind all I’ll say is thanks for everything Steve. We are where we are today in the state of technology in large part thanks to you. Much of what I’ve done as a career was in some way inspired by or influenced by you. It’s been remarkable (though I’m still a little upset you killed the Newton so quickly, as I rather liked mine.)
On a personal note Steve: whatever the reason this happened today, and whatever you’re doing right now I hope you’re happy and healthy. You deserve nothing less.
I’ve posted this before, but let’s go with it again. It’s a fairly inspirational few minutes from a fairly remarkable guy.
And one my other favourite moments:
Posted by skooter at 7:25 PM
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Tags: Apple, PBS, Steve Jobs, Triumph of the Nerds
This is a very good seven minute piece. If this piques your interest and you haven’t seen Helvetica you’re missing out.
Posted by skooter at 7:10 AM
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Tags: Information Architecture, Information Design, Typography, Video