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Comment by crazygringo | Hacker News Reader

I've got to disagree.

I really disliked previously, when icon prominence could be wildly different because one icon takes up the full area with a big square, while another is a circle that necessarily has a significantly smaller area within the same extent. Icons from Apple were all nicely balanced in size, but third-party apps could be anything.

Giving equal visual weight to each icon is an improvement. iOS was a step forward in this direction, and now they finally brought the same standard to Mac.

Squircles aren't ugly, they're functional. "Shape" hasn't disappeared as a distinct visual cue, as the area within the squircle is made of, well... different shapes.

And let's not forget the fact that Macs still effectively use icon masks. A smaller icon is harder to click, because clicking on a transparent area... doesn't click at all. I remember icons like a skinny letter "S" that you had to click just right or you couldn't at all.

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> Giving equal visual weight to each icon is an improvement.

Equal visual weight is another way of saying less differentiated.

> "Shape" hasn't disappeared as a distinct visual cue, as the area within the squircle is made of, well... different shapes.

Shape refers to a boundary outline, not interior patterning. A square with polkadots is still shaped like a square.

> A smaller icon is harder to click, because clicking on a transparent area... doesn't click at all.

That problem is only tangential to what shape they allow your icon to be within an enclosing NxN hitbox. Assume an implied framework where clicking on them isn't broken.

Some differentiation between elements must be sacrificed in order to build shared UX patterns between them. I think we can definitely go too far in either direction.

An example of a nice compromise would be the macOS menu bar. Most status icons are monotone, which allows the ones with meaningful color differentiation to shine through without being drowned in the noise or increasing user fatigue.

> user fatigue

Citation needed. What is user fatigue? Can it be empirically measured? Fatigued by what? Too much color? Lack of shape? Too much contrast? Lack of contrast?

When is the last time you were "fatigued" by icons?

Without hard facts the expression is just a wishy-washy way to promote a personal taste.

User fatigue is UX concept and can be measured.

I'd be surprised if squircles reduced user fatigue though - I think a good adjacent example is Googles new icons with the colours that all look similar. Users were complaining immediately that they had to look harder to find the correct app.

Another thing we use everyday - fonts - have differentiated visual spacing and shapes make them easier/quicker to read. So it would make sense for this to apply to icons that serve a similar purpose on a smaller scale.

I'm speaking in the capacity of a professional designer and developer, using industry terminology that any other professional will recognize. Please let the adults talk.

> Without hard facts the expression is just a wishy-washy way to promote a personal taste.

For a moment there, you almost had us thinking that you were interested in learning something.

You seem to conflate different facts that have nothing to do with each other to arrive at a conclusion: There is nothing preventing Apple from not using said click masks while icons retain their distinct shapes. iOS is for mobile, its lessons don't transfer to desktop, and this was proven by Windows 8. That "squircles aren't ugly because they are functional" - how on Earth can those be mutually exclusive even in recognition? Functional very often is at the cost of making things ugly, the history lesson is that Apple more often than others managed to be both functional and beautiful. You also conflate convex pixel area with visual weight, but that is false too.

I’m not a designer but I disagree. I want to be able to easily distinguish apps without much focus or concentration or searching. Making them visually distinct with shape and color is superior. Uniformity is a problem not a target.

Hard disagree. For me quircles make finding the desired app way more difficult…

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