

Use OS X Lion to Improve Your UI - blakeperdue
http://pixify.com/blog/use-os-x-lion-to-improve-your-ui/

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cageface
Lion looks a lot to me like a return to OS X's NextStep roots: spartan and
understated with color used sparingly and mostly for emphasis.

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ugh
And then there’s iCal and Address Book …

I’m mostly just happy that Apple’s apps I use most (Finder, Safari, Mail) have
adopted a spartan look.

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jinushaun
And Photobooth… Everything is so grey almost to the point of hurting usability
(I still miss the coloured Finder folder icons) and out of nowhere you have
the cartoonish apps such as iCal, AB and Photobooth. WTFmate indeed.

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ugh
Photo Booth is a wacky and fun app and it’s tastefully done. It’s also an app
people like to play with, it’s not something that’s used to get work done. I
see no problem with it.

I absolutely do not believe that every app has to look the same. It’s ok for
them to look different. It just (1) should be well done, (2) standard UI
elements should be immediately recognizable and the look shouldn’t (3) create
wrong expectations or (4) limit the UI in some way.

I personally don’t like the look of iCal and Address Book, I don’t know how
others feel. (1) is certainly a very subjective point that can be endlessly
argued about. It’s all about fashion.

iCal, Address Book and Photo Booth do very well on (2), but I think that iCal
and Address Book do very poorly on (3) and (4).

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flixic
Copying the core aesthetics, while glaring over the details that actually make
Lion look good.

Especially the progress bar: sure, it does look a bit like Lion's but it
absolutely lacks the subtle colors and shades.

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webXL
The white box shadow on the bottom of the button doesn't seem to match Lion's
buttons. I think it's a little cleaner if it's removed or darkened a bit.

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sid0
What is the value in aping a particular OS's look for your UI when chances are
most of your users won't even be using that OS?

You know what other sites attempt to copy an OS's native controls? The ones
displaying fake virus scans.

