Design

AppleCare to launch iOS-friendly web UI and 24/7 chat support next Monday

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2013

According to the well-informed blogger Mark Gurman, the iPhone maker is about to unveil a revamped support interface on the web that should play nicely with iOS devices, allowing customers to access materials and browse the support sections comfortably from their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

The current interface is not optimized for iOS devices so constant pinch-zooming is required. In addition, the company is rumored to be introducing round the clock chat support as early as next Monday.

In giving customers ability to chat with a live agent at any time of day or night, using an iOS-friendly web interface, Apple is hoping to further improve upon its praised customer service...

Beat Jony Ive at his own game using this interactive iOS 7 design tool

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 22, 2013

After June's iOS 7 announcement us bloggers have gotten to become premium design experts. So much ink has been spilt on the new look of Apple's mobile operating system, with observations of armchair analyst, resident critics, the quotidian and alike touching on such topics as Apple's golden ratio, the icons, the flatness, the colors and just about every aspect of the software overhaul one could think of.

And that's perfectly okay. And now, those who insist they could do a better job at revamping iOS 7 can take a crack at it. An amusing tool by Usvsth3m lets you create your own iOS 7 design masterpiece by customizing the iOS 7 icons, wallpapers, fonts (good-bye Helvetica Neue, no?), color scheme, corners, shadows - and even put in their own slogan. Will you give it a go and let your inner designer shine through?

Apple patents advanced Liquidmetal processing techniques as new gadgets loom

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2013

We've been waiting and waiting (and waiting) for a Liquidmetal Apple gadget ever since that 2010 deal saw Apple acquire worldwide exclusive rights to use the amorphous alloy (also known as metallic glass) in consumer electronics applications. 2012 went and gone without a Liquidmetal iPhone, or iPad or MacBook for that matter.

At the end of 2012 Apple extended the deal with Liquidmetal Technologies (a Caltech spinoff) or another two years, through 2014. Still, the iPhone maker has yet to use the alloy in gadgets, even though it's owned the rights to it since 2010. This could change soon, if a new patent gain unearthed Wednesday is an indication.

That the United States Patent & Trademark Office awarded Apple's patent on a process for mass production of amorphous metals is a sign of Apple potentially moving to commercialize Terminator-like alloy. Liquidmetal iWatch, anyone?

Instagram’s head designer Tim Van Damme is leaving for DropBox

Cody Lee ∙ July 16, 2013

Since January of last year, Tim Van Damme has been responsible for the look and feel of Instagram, one of the hottest mobile apps on the planet. But today, the 28-year-old designer announced that he would be leaving the Facebook-owned company to take on a new position.

That position is on the design team at Dropbox, the hot cloud storage startup that recently acquired Mailbox and is now building a platform for apps to sync various amounts of data. In a blog post, Van Damme said it was "time to move on, to solve a different set of problems."

Yahoo! News modernizes design

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2013

There's no denying that the Internet giant Yahoo has been on quite a roll lately.

Over the course of just two months, the company has managed to roll out the awesome Weather app (that Apple seemingly copied quite slavishly in iOS 7), launch the Mail app on iPad, update its Search iOS app with Summly summaries and acquire the blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion.

Today, the company announced it is revamping its popular News portal on the web and mobile devices with a new design aimed at creating a more consistent feel across all of Yahoo. The all-new Yahoo News look is also available when browsing the website on your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android devices...

Following iOS 7 flattening, Apple changes Jony Ive’s title to SVP, Design

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2013

This is quite interesting. Just as Apple has taken the wraps off iOS 7 which has undergone a major facelift under the guidance of Apple's Jony Ive, the design guru's official title on the company's Leadership section has been tweaked, going from Senior Vice President of Industrial Design to just Senior Vice President of Design.

The subtle but signifiable change of nomenclature is for sure meant to signal Ive's tremendously important and much broader responsibilities at Apple, that now encompass both hardware and software design across the company...

iOS 7 beta GUI PSD file now available for download

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 31, 2017

Heads up all of you designers and concept artists. The entire GUI (graphical user interface) for iOS 7 has just been uploaded to the web.

That’s right, all of the buttons, menus, icons and anything else you can think of graphic-wise in the developer beta are now available for download…

Jony Ive reportedly had Apple’s marketing team design iOS 7 icons

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Since the moment Apple unveiled its completely redesigned mobile OS on Monday, the comments regarding its UI, and particularly the new icons, have been flowing nonstop. Some folks like the changes, and others refuse to believe it's the product of Apple designers.

And as it turns out, the latter group may be right. Sort of. A new report is out this afternoon claiming that there are explainable reasons behind the strange-looking app icons and inconsistant UX in iOS 7. And according to insiders, it's still a major work in progress...

Icon comparison: iOS 6 vs iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2013

Apple's new look and feel in iOS 7 is certainly polarizing, that much is clear. While approximately half of those who took part in our informal iOS 7 makeover poll said they loved the new design, nearly a third think the new interface will take some time getting used to. While the vast majority seem to support the facelift, a lot of people have taken issue with the new iOS 7 icons.

Complaints range from the icons being too colourful and out of place to being completely different from each other to resembling a terrible Photoshop job by a 14-yer-old. We'll let you be the judge: here's a side-by-side comparison of iOS 6 vs iOS 7 icons...

Watch this now: Apple design philosophy

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2013

Yesterday, we highlighted Apple's mission-statement ad that deals with its famous signature, 'Designed by Apple in California'.

Today, the company has made WWDC commercials available on its YouTube page, among them a minute and 30 seconds long clip.

The video is titled 'Designed by Apple - Intention' and Apple used it to open the WWDC keynote. In it, the company explains how it goes about designing its products so it's definitely worth a watch from start to finish...

Poll: do you like iOS 7 face-lift?

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2013

With the first iOS 7 beta now available to Apple's registered developers, Twitter is on fire with both praises and complaints from those who have downloaded and installed the software to their devices. At first blush, a lot of people seem to dislike the redesigned home screen icons - and I bet some folks will actually miss skeuomorphism in iOS 7.

Those who do love the new iOS 7 look tend to be equally passionate about the subject. We knew changes in iOS 7 would be polarizing and I'm still bipolar about it.

That being said, today we're asking you to participate in our little non-scientific poll and vote on the subject of iOS 7 redesign. Please disregard iOS 7 features, this poll is strictly focused on finding out whether or not iOS 7 is aesthetically pleasing to your eye...

Kevin Rose: iOS 7 is ‘very different’ and ‘a big change’

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 6, 2013

If you ask Digg co-founder and Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose, changes in iOS 7 are more than skin deep. Additionally, Rose in the latest episode of The Random Show makes claims - without divulging his sources - that WWDC will bring us updated MacBook Airs.

I approve his message - it's fairly safe to assume Monday's keynote will see a specs upgrade for the Air (Retina, much?) and quite possibly for the Pro, stemming from Intel's just announced fourth-generation Haswell chips.

More importantly, Rose mentions iOS 7 will be "very different" from what we've been accustomed to. The way he phrased it, you may not want to put much faith in iOS 7 renderings and mockups that have been floating around the web...