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-   -   Not really digging the use of orange for "Flagged"... (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=30779)

SFF 2013-09-20 04:19 AM

Not really digging the use of orange for "Flagged"...
 
After using OF2 for several days now, I wanted to offer my thoughts on the decision to depict flagged tasks by coloring the check circles orange. In my opinion, there is not enough distinction between the orange used for "flagged" and the yellow used for "due soon", especially when a task is both flagged [I]and[/I] due soon - the half orange, half yellow circle just doesn't offer enough visual separation to be able to easily note that the task is flagged. Lists of tasks, some of which are flagged and some of which are due soon, are also difficult to differentiate, especially when scrolling through these lists.

My suggestion would be to either use a completely different color for "flagged" (blue?), or even better, show an orange flag icon [I]inside[/I] the circle (similar to how the 3 dots are currently used to show a repeating task), and use color only for Due and Overdue.

(and not to hijack my own thread), but since I'm talking about visual differentiation, I'd like a bit more contrast between deferred tasks and active ones--maybe a bit lighter gray for deferred?

Thanks again to the Omnigroup for your great customer service!

enigma2k 2013-09-20 08:51 AM

Yes this was also my first thought that yellow and orange are too similar and blue was also the first color that came to my mind for the circle flag color.

Please don't put an additional flag into the circle, this would just overcomplicate this wonderful simplistic design OF2 currently offers.

RobTrew 2013-09-21 04:02 AM

Apparently it's a holiday souvenir of the Ginza line in the Tokyo metro.

[url]https://twitter.com/fet/status/380463862165684224[/url]

I would personally add that this is generally a very good redesign, but I do wonder whether a circle thick enough to draw attention amidst all the noise and bustle of a busy metro station isn't a little too thick and attention-seeking for a small screen.

Particularly when there are multiple colored circles on a phone screen, that's fairly strong visual competition for the adjacent text, and seems to come a little adrift from Apple's principle of UI 'deference' to user data.

The metro signs seem a very reasonable and interesting source of inspiration, but I think that adaptation for context, medium, and cognitive efficiency may work better than decorative copy-paste. Slightly thinner and less obtrusive circles would work better for me.

(Perhaps others respond differently – I know some people like to be 'hit over the head' by bright colors to warn of impending due or elapsed due dates :-)

Generally, however, a really encouraging redesign, I think.

[COLOR="White"]--[/COLOR]

RobTrew 2013-09-21 04:52 AM

Perhaps the difficulty of distinguishing at a glance between flagging and time status could be eased by reserving the Tokyo Metro symbols for timetabling (due/soon), and using something with a distinct profile for flagging.

(Even, perhaps, a simple flag icon like the one in iOS7 Mail ?)

[COLOR="White"]--[/COLOR]

psidnell 2013-09-22 11:05 PM

I like the idea of combining due/overdue/flagged/repeat into the circle, but find the colours a little too similar to always see the difference, particularly in daylight.

If due/overdue always occupied the bottom of the circle and flagged always occupied the top - rather than either of them filling it than perhaps it would be clearer.

Lizard 2013-09-23 05:46 PM

[QUOTE=RobTrew;127338]
(Even, perhaps, a simple flag icon like the one in iOS7 Mail ?)
[/QUOTE]

In my iOS 7 mail, flagged items get an orange dot...

RobTrew 2013-09-23 08:46 PM

[QUOTE=Lizard;127428]In my iOS 7 mail, flagged items get an orange dot...[/QUOTE]

The flag icon at the top right of iOS7 Mail - in the toolbar.

I do think though, since you mention them, that those orange dots – small, unobtrusive, single outer edge – are good exemplars of UI deference.

The Tokyo Metro symbols – large perimeter, thick fills, two edges – are a bit self-advertising.

enigma2k 2013-09-24 01:28 AM

Where can you guys see an orange dot in iOS7 Mail? Mine is blue next to unread messages and I can't flag them in any other way.

RobTrew 2013-09-24 02:05 AM

3 Attachment(s)
[QUOTE=enigma2k;127442]Where can you guys see an orange dot in iOS7 Mail? Mine is blue next to unread messages and I can't flag them in any other way.[/QUOTE]

The flagging icon (blue outline) is bottom left on iPhone, top right in iPad.

(The dots yield a better balance between UI distraction and data foregrounding than the Tokyo fruitloops, I think)

[IMG]http://forums.omnigroup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2901&stc=1&d=1380017031[/IMG]

[IMG]http://forums.omnigroup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2902&stc=1&d=1380017031[/IMG]

[IMG]http://forums.omnigroup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2903&stc=1&d=1380017031[/IMG]

enigma2k 2013-09-24 02:22 AM

I can understand now why I couldn't find the orange dot. I have set up my Gmail account with Exchange to get push notifications but it only allows me to mark messages as unread and won't give me the flag option.
My other gmail account that doesn't use Exchange and the iCloud mail account both allow me to flag with the orange dot.

This was really driving me crazy that I couldn't find what you guys were talking about... :)


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