The funny thing is that I think Mailbox has put much care and ingenuity into their iPhone app than Dropbox has. The 2007 four tabs at the bottom UI is not the best way to browse your files.
I'm personally not a big fan of designers trying to out-clever user familiarity by getting rid of tabs (or other standard interaction models to which users are accustomed).
Are tabs sexy? Maybe not, or at least designers don't think so. However, tabs are very well placed in terms of usability, very familiar to users, instantly understandable, and a lot less complicated than the back-bending design gymnastics some designers are doing just to be different from Apple.
The tabs move over to a side panel on the iPad. Works out of the box and offers the ability to write a single code base for both platforms.
Most designers ("UX monkeys") are too dumb to realise this as they are just Photoshop slingers and can't code for shit nor know the SDK.
It has an amazing cost benefit when you're a small startup and want to push to both platforms without compromising design.
Seriously, Tab based works wonders when doing universal - mostly because it's out of the box. Another way is the side panel. Now that comes out of the box for iPad, but not iPhone.
Using a tab gives you the ability to have a tab on the iPhone and side panel on the iPad with as little change as possible.
Just because the SDK makes it easy does not make it the best design solution.
Don't let the coders design, I guess. http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/03/10/designers-are-not-p...
I replied above: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5382745
You got a long run way, sure, go ahead and customise the crap out of everything. Short run way? Try to custom the native components (tabs,navigation bars, action-sheets and etc).
Most designers are too stupid to actually be able to figure out that some things are hard to do.
Makes me thing of the strike through and "bold" text when the iOS SDK first came out. Trying to convince designers that a check mark would take a minute to do compared to a strike through was such a fucking hell and left a bad taste in my mouth. Our run way was short, the SDK new and certain things didn't come out of the box.
The cost benefit analysis is in the developers hand. If he/she can design then that makes outside designers useless.
The only thing I actually need is illustrators for icons and drawings. Designers and/or "Mobile UX Experts" are redundant.
Obviously, development and design are not mutually exclusive. Loren Brichter for example, is a great designer and a great developer. By not relying on Apple's standard components, he created one of the best Mac apps (Tweetie) which set a new bar for Mac apps and inspired others to do the same (Sparrow).
I like when designers and developers who are perfectionists work together: http://www.cabel.name/2007/09/coda-toolbar-and-three-pixel-c....
If you can't implement the designs that you dream of, don't convince yourself that the dream wasn't a good one. It sounds like the app you were working on was a to-do list of sorts. I suppose that you think that too much thought went into the design of this app, then: http://culturedcode.com/things/iphone/makingof/ Somehow, they managed to ship a finished product in 2008 without sacrificing good design.
This obviously is only capable if you have enough resources, including development talent. Do you think that Dropbox lacks the resources to create a better app? Or is your point that we should quit when it gets too hard?
I am not saying you should rely on native standards without innovating, I am saying a developer is a better person to make those decisions where you wanna tweak design that might be hellish in code than a designer.
I like developers who can design. Period. Especially iOS where the damn controllers are called -VIEW-Controllers. If you're a startup, get a iOS developer who can design. It's cheaper, it's smarter. It's better. Less person to maintain, less communication errors and those thing happen because we're human.
It's one of the platforms where the developer SHOULD be able to design and rightfully do so.
I've never come to respect designers for iOS (I can't speak for Android, but I wonder if it's the same). One trick ponies. If you can't code your views, then get a different job. I am sure there are developers who can design and then code it. http://flyosity.com
Don't get those oil snakes men that trick you into thinking their bullshit user interface design education is worth anything.
The only objective UX is speed, and that comes from the developer. Most of the time UX (and design) is subjective. Sure you have bad ones, and good ones, but in the end it's mostly a matter of taste. Get a developer who has taste.
Most developers are also "app users", so they should be aware of what works and what doesn't and can work in their own "smart" features. Drag to refresh, swipe for menu and etc. Design comes with that.
Having worked for so many UX dickheads, who were just managers who couldn't code... or even better "idea-cunts" I've come to hate them more than MBA's. At least an MBA knows stuff I might not be aware of.
It's not just about run way. I rather have 2-3 developers who can design than mixing in some non-dev who just wastes everyones time.
So you have a design suggestion (read IDEA)? Woopdi-fucking do so do my 3 developers as well. Except they can code it.
That's what UX people are.. idea guys... managers...useless.
"Getting into the tech scene when you have no skills" - Easy, just tell them you're a product and UX guy http://josephwalla.com/getting-into-the-tech-scene-when-you-...
I haven't put much thought into designing a file system app, so here goes nothing:
* The Camera Upload tab assumes that you're using it. Make it a list item in the main content tab.
* Create a special folder called Clipboard, give it its own tab with a big plus button. When you add a file to the Clipboard, you can instantly copy the link to it.
* The current sharing screen is daunting [http://d.pr/i/8v2r], and doesn't keep up with the SDK [http://d.pr/i/5Z1g].
* On Mac, let people add files to Clipboard by dragging files to the menu bar icon like getcloudapp.com.
* As a bonus, I'd like a visualization of your largest files and folders vs. those that are are accessed most often.