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Apple - google - you

swissmiss.typepad.com

49 pointsjgamman13 comments

I think that being constantly bombarded with images of the Apple and Google UIs, with their unattainable zenlike simplicity, has given me the hacker equivalent of an eating disorder.

Complex GUI -> GUI Complex

Not that it's necessarily a bad thing. I suppose a little cognitive purging now and then never hurt anyone.

GUIrexia?

Actually, I think GUIlimia works better on both counts...

A way around accessing websites crammed with ads and unnecessary features is to access its mobile pages even when you are using your computer. Just compare the followings:

http://bofa.com

https://www.bankofamerica.com/mobile Which one would you prefer accessing?

You can use Google to search for mobile pages or use http://tiltview.com to be redirected to a mobile version of a page.

Yeah, but when you're not a product company, your UI is driven entirely by business requirements. I'd love to see if Google's internal apps (e.g. HR) are as clean as their homepage? I know that Gmail and Greader are not "simple" or "minimal".

Complex requirements -> complex UI.

That said, if your UI is intuitive, and matches the users' mental model of the requirements, those complex UIs can still be very usable (e.g. gmail).

Original Source: http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2008/03/05/simplicity/

Some interesting comments on that one if you want to waste a minute or ten.

Vim : a blank screen or maybe just lines of "~"

Unfortunately there's a huge difference between Apple / Google style minimalism and vi style minimalism:

http://rob.tc/index.php/2007/08/20/everyones-first-vi-sessio...

Just so you know, I modded you down due to blog spam. That was short enough you could have put it in your comment (not to mention, the "everyone's first VI session" skit is probably older than me, and definitely not due to the website you linked).

I'm sorry I wanted to give the blog where I heard it from credit...

Adwords is quite a bit more complicated than the cartoon of "your company's app".

True, but AdWords isn't meant for the average web-user.

The point is not to automatically simplify the design to its bare minimum its to consider your users needs and their ability to handle complex UIs.

Its a scale with power users on one end that want all those flags and options, and the average lay-person who wants things as simple as possible, always remember who your target audience is.

I strongly believe in following the Google approach of data-mining usage stats for your apps, to test different UIs on 1% of your audience and select the one with the best results.

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