Louie Mantia, Jr.Jun 25, 2025

Not that anyone cares *when* I did this, but I made this 15 days ago.

It doesn’t seem hard to me to do this.

As a person who used to make app icons at Apple, I don’t think the situation is that the designer doesn’t know, but rather the decision maker who is supposed to have taste doesn’t know. (If this person isn’t Alan Dye, then that’s even more embarrassing for him that he’s not the person making that call.)

Also, slightly purpler is better. More Mac, less Mail / Safari like I said before.

Show threadLouie Mantia, Jr.Jun 25, 2025

Like I don’t even understand why they went this route with the Dark version. Why... would you go about it this way? Keep the strongest point of contrast in the facial features. So on light mode, they’re the darkest color. On dark mode, they’re the lightest color.

I really, really do not like spending my time pointing this out. I could write a whole blog post but I don’t want to seem angry about it. I just think the right solutions are simpler than what they’re doing.

Show threadDuncan HorneJun 25, 2025
@louie I really like that last sentence. It’s almost like they’re trying to think too clever about it.
Show threadLouie Mantia, Jr.Jun 25, 2025
@duncandesi9n Honestly, cleverness is the worst poison a designer can drink. It’s not the key to making a good thing. It’s just the key to making people notice. And sometimes the job is not to make people notice it so much.
Show threadRyan the Design Lion
@louie My design teacher in college would sometimes write “clever” on a design, and it was her most scathing, damning critique.
Jun 25, 2025 at 2:08pmIvory for iOS