I wish I would see more apps today that took a bit more creative freedom with their toolbars or just control groups -- like back in the day.
Or see apps without a sidebar. Sometimes I see apps with sidebars that only have like 4 static items and by nature cannot add more to it (like playlists in iTunes or albums in iPhoto could). And yes, the sidebar is a great way to do apps; just not all.
These were fun and had layouts specifically for its intended purpose as an app. They were great!
@marioguzman Steve TS and Codex are showing off incredible efficiency at creating macOS apps that look like default macOS apps, but that two-sidebars-overlapping-a-tiny-middle-zone is weak sauce.
Great mac apps are what you're describing, using the default OS "meat”, but refining the layout to be precisely what that app’s purpose calls for.
Maybe I'm biased against the "default" apps because Liquid Glass absolutely ruins them compared to the simple elegance they would have had in older OS 😅
@marioguzman I think what would help the most to encourage creative freedom in developing Mac apps are 1) a wider variety of stock controls and 2) writing custom controls becoming more accessible.
Back in the “delicious” era much of this gap was bridged with third party libraries, but those mostly disappeared.
The addition of DPI and light/dark variants haven’t helped, either. One used to be able to whip up a button in PS pretty quickly but now it’s a much more involved vector endeavor.
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