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The "inbox" and "quick entry" buttons really annoy me! Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Quote:
Originally Posted by doodiebrad View Post
Do you like the way this looks?
Not really, but it isn't something that has really bugged me.

How would you make them balanced, since one has text and one doesn't?
 
I've attached two quick image versions I did. One of them has the pen icon enlarged to match the size of the Inbox, the other has the Inbox shrunken down to match the original size of the pen icon.
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It's funny, the icons don't bother me at all, but have a look at how "Today 10/27" spills out of the edges of the box in the Forecast view — now that really bugs me! The icons were a conscious choice, but it is hard to believe this is, and I bet if OmniFocus for iPad had been a few months later, this wouldn't have made it into the shipping product.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
It's funny, the icons don't bother me at all, but have a look at how "Today 10/27" spills out of the edges of the box in the Forecast view — now that really bugs me! The icons were a conscious choice, but it is hard to believe this is, and I bet if OmniFocus for iPad had been a few months later, this wouldn't have made it into the shipping product.
The icons don't bother me at all. However, I did notice the same thing Bill did. It did annoy me at first, but then I started ignoring it, and it doesn't bother me at all now.

As I said, these days I try to spend the least amount of time in OF for planning and reviewing and more time getting things done.

So, I try not to focus on the areas don't contribute to my planning/reviewing. OF allows me to do this with minimal distractions or without "forced" work-arounds due to lack of features or incomplete implementations in other programs.

Ken
 
Not every element inside every chunk of screen has to line up with some other element in an adjacent part of the screen. Buttons have borders so they can align properly regardless of what the contents do.

Just because the Inbox button has text - to help differentiate it from the other "tap this and show me a list of items" areas on the screen - doesn't mean that the New Item button needs text, too. Tap that button one time and you realize it does something different.

Returning to your original point... As gopi's screenshots illustrate, trying to make the yellow portions of each button "line up" or "match" produces a quick entry button that's crowded by the borders in one case, and an inbox counter that's vertically challenged and looks bad in the other.

We understand you'd prefer something different here doodiebrad, but whatever time we spend making a change here could be used working on the other things which larger groups of customers have told us they want.

We got a small number of passionate emails telling us that the new icons and art we added to the iPhone app a while ago were a huge step backwards. If they shouted the loudest, should we have listened? :-)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian View Post
Not every element inside every chunk of screen has to line up with some other element in an adjacent part of the screen. Buttons have borders so they can align properly regardless of what the contents do.

Just because the Inbox button has text - to help differentiate it from the other "tap this and show me a list of items" areas on the screen - doesn't mean that the New Item button needs text, too. Tap that button one time and you realize it does something different.

Returning to your original point... As gopi's screenshots illustrate, trying to make the yellow portions of each button "line up" or "match" produces a quick entry button that's crowded by the borders in one case, and an inbox counter that's vertically challenged and looks bad in the other.

We understand you'd prefer something different here doodiebrad, but whatever time we spend making a change here could be used working on the other things which larger groups of customers have told us they want.

We got a small number of passionate emails telling us that the new icons and art we added to the iPhone app a while ago were a huge step backwards. If they shouted the loudest, should we have listened? :-)
Again, it's your baby. If you think those icons look fine, then by all means keep them. But to sum this up, because I think we're beating a dead horse here, your job should be to "wow and delight" your users, not simply to add features that are "most requested" while ignoring other deficiencies in your application. You're being too easy on yourselves, you can do it ALL, form AND function. One doesn't have to sacrifice the other.

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by doodiebrad View Post
Again, it's your baby. If you think those icons look fine, then by all means keep them. But to sum this up, because I think we're beating a dead horse here, your job should be to "wow and delight" your users, not simply to add features that are "most requested" while ignoring other deficiencies in your application. You're being too easy on yourselves, you can do it ALL, form AND function. One doesn't have to sacrifice the other.

So, do you have any comments on the modifications I posted? I know that the icons as they are now make you unhappy, but you have pointedly refused to comment on what you would do to change things.
 
I like having immediate access to the Inbox and to add a new task from anywhere, it means I can do it without losing my flow of where I was.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by doodiebrad View Post
Again, it's your baby. If you think those icons look fine, then by all means keep them. But to sum this up, because I think we're beating a dead horse here, your job should be to "wow and delight" your users, not simply to add features that are "most requested" while ignoring other deficiencies in your application. You're being too easy on yourselves, you can do it ALL, form AND function. One doesn't have to sacrifice the other.

No OmniFocus' job is to produce Solid products which do what they say on the tin. Yes Form AND Function is the panacea, but get 10 UI designers in a room and they'll disagree on some things.

Bottom line, does OmniFocus provide a GTD solution which works for me? Yes
Is it uncluttered and easy to use? Yes
Would the UI improvements suggested here make it easier to use? IMHO No

OF is not an impulse buy, if someone spends $40, they're going to take the time to learn how to use the App, and anyone who already does GTD will pick it up easily.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gopi View Post
So, do you have any comments on the modifications I posted? I know that the icons as they are now make you unhappy, but you have pointedly refused to comment on what you would do to change things.
Hey, didn't mean to ignore you. Your modifications are nice, but they only address the difference in pixel height. Not the generic nature of the icons, nor the inconstancy of text + icon in one and only icon in the other. Thanks for trying.
 
 


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