Logic Pro X 10.3 and GarageBand Updates out today

[fmr]

It's ludicrous that we FINALLY have high-ppi displays and the level of graphical detail has gone retrograde and plummeted to where GUIs barely look like they've gotten out of the prototype or even planning stage.

Unfortunately, developers and vendors are now more concerned with the mobile platorfms, and development now takes that as the standard. That's why this trend came up, IMO.

And I agree with you, It's ugly, doesn't appeal to mess with it, and I don't notice that it is more user friendly. Simply disgusting. I sincerely hope that this trend finishes soon, and that it isn't as contagious as it seems to be.

HD displays, 4K displays and then all we have are these flat and boring GUIs to show there?

[chk071]

You're missing the point: people liking it doesn't mean it's better.

<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">https://www.fastcodesign.com/3058094/th ... pert</span>

But then your response ("Why? Because you say so?") [suggests to me that] you might not care about expertise, so it probably does no good for me to cite experts...

PS: <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2672 ... tise</span>

Define "better" please. I find flat designs more usable. I also think that, basically, what people like will be the major selling point, and, what could be more important than that? A GUI noone likes, but it's perfectly usable? Mmh... that doesn't sound very feasible.

[Jace-BeOS]

You're missing the point: people liking it doesn't mean it's better.

<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">https://www.fastcodesign.com/3058094/th ... pert</span>

But then your response ("Why? Because you say so?") [suggests to me that] you might not care about expertise, so it probably does no good for me to cite experts...

PS: <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2672 ... tise</span>

Define "better" please. I find flat designs more usable. I also think that, basically, what people like will be the major selling point, and, what could be more important than that? A GUI noone likes, but it's perfectly usable? Mmh... that doesn't sound very feasible.

Seriously? You think aesthetic preference beats functional superiority? You think that everyone would give up computing devices because the functionality is superior but the aesthetic is not to their tastes?

I give up. I'm not going to define "better" for you because I don't have the motivation to educate you on human-computer-interfacing, human cognition, human optics and visual neurology/behaviors, psychology... I already gave you a link to start learning about it.

Take some classes. Go learn about these things via the expertise of the few who are still instructing students in these things, before experts become extinct and no one understands anything or thinks deeper than superficiality, ignorant guesses, and personal preference.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I hate flat. This is enraging me. Apple's taste in design has turned from the arguably best to the absolute worst. And seeing how excruciatingly long we have had to wait for updates to Logic (pro users and content creators being utterly unimportant to current Apple executives), it'll take forever for this crap to be undone whenever someone new comes to power at Apple and changes the aesthetic direction back away from low-effort, amateur, flat and low-contrast garbage.

the entire industry is going 'flat' (not just on macos/ios) -

The industry was doing it some before Apple followed suit, yes, but then Apple joining the bandwagon made it worse.

Apple was supposed to be a trend setter, not a follower... They've made the fad into an entrenched trend because people tend to copy them, mostly because of the image of knowing what they're doing, and their prior reputation for quality of design they no longer execute on.

If people demand flat, then it would be pretty stupid not to offer that. You see it everywhere. If people considered it ugly or unusable, then GUI designers would hardly follow that trend.

Who's demanding it? People who understand design or people who want novelty? This is a corporate/developer-driven trend, not a user-driven trend.

Why? Because you say so? If something sells like hot cakes, would you say that it's not what people want, and demand, but rather something corporate-driven? I really don't get your argumentation. Just because you don't like doesn't mean noone likes it. Actually i find the flat trend pretty nice, because it's simple and usable. Take Google Android for example, that's just an excellent example of flat design done right. Windows 10, even though not quite as good as that, is better, more clear and simple than former Windows version too for me. And the design teams at Google, Apple, or Microsoft aren't exactly stupid too, and would develop designs past the will of users.

I'm also a fully paid up member of the flat cult. I don't want the tech I use making demands on my limited daily mental bandwidth. I also dig contrasts. As much as is possible, I'd prefer the inorganic parts of our lives to be rendered as flat, plain etc, to allow the organic elements to really pop. And when I'm creating I want the music to sound 3D, without tons of different interface designs pulling focus.

It wasn't always this way. When Valhalla first hit the scene, I wasn't convinced. And I'm not going to say that I don't like a little bit of eye-candy, but I really do feel that utilitarian design helps me maintain focus on what is important

Where I think they have gone a little too far with LPX is with the newer effects. Having a few of these windows open in a project makes it a little more difficult to distinguish, at a glance, which effect I am using. At the point where it becomes a barrier to workflow, then I get a little antsy.

I do wonder which way they will go with re-designs of Ultrabeat, Sculpture etc (It's interesting. to me, that their compressor re-design already looks dated within the latest paradigm). To my mind, instruments bridge the organic and inorganic. To that end, I do enjoy a little vibe to come from the instrument design. I think they got Alchemy pretty spot on, save for the bottom/performance section, but so much of that was already part of the CamelAudio predecessor. Will be interesting to see, but I'm guessing that is not gonna happen till XI drops

[chk071]

I give up. I'm not going to define "better" for you because I don't have the motivation to educate you on human-computer-interfacing, human cognition, human optics and visual neurology/behaviors, psychology... I already gave you a link to start learning about it.

Well, good thing you don't, because that could turn out pretty funny. Especially that you believe that GUI's are designed to look good, and not to offer a good user experience, is funny, because, basically, that's what it's all about when they sit together, and create GUI's. To improve the usability. Hard news, i know.

[Numanoid]

I'm also a fully paid up member of the flat cult. I don't want the tech I use making demands on my limited daily mental bandwidth.

Your pledge to not buy more gear, means you can't have it

[chk071]

@ el-bo: Actually, the Valhalla plugs are one of the few exceptions which i don't like too much, even though they use a flat design. But that's rather because i consider those a bit TOO simple. It's like a rookie did those, who just started off doing GUI design. No offense towards Sean, but, i think, there's really better made examples of flat GUI design.

[elxsound]

I'm also a fully paid up member of the flat cult. I don't want the tech I use making demands on my limited daily mental bandwidth.

Your pledge to not buy more gear, means you can't have it

Fully paid up before 12/31/16.

[fmr]

Well, good thing you don't, because that could turn out pretty funny. Especially that you believe that GUI's are designed to look good, and not to offer a good user experience, is funny, because, basically, that's what it's all about when they sit together, and create GUI's. To improve the usability. Hard news, i know.

Well.. No. It isn't just to improve useability. It is also about creating a pleasant experience, and better understanding of the tools. You sound like those guys in the 80s that were mocking about the Mac, and defended MS-DOS. Then Windows came out, and they were shut.

And also color screens.

If you want flat, why do you ned color monitors in the first place? You could use a black and white monitor, It is the non-plus-ultra of flatness, and certainly will give you plenty of constrast and is as flat as it can be.

And it is certainly possible to create very useful GUIs in B&W.

[chk071]

AGreed, it's not JUST about usability. But, eye candy improves usability too. But, again, if the GUI's wouldn't be usable, they wouldn't be made, just to be eye candy. In fact, i know a lot more GUI's which aren't flat, which i would consider rather eye candy than really being made for usability. And, especially VST plugin GUI's are often not made by experts in that regard.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

@ el-bo: Actually, the Valhalla plugs are one of the few exceptions which i don't like too much, even though they use a flat design. But that's rather because i consider those a bit TOO simple. It's like a rookie did those, who just started off doing GUI design. No offense towards Sean, but, i think, there's really better made examples of flat GUI design.

They really grew on me And once the new 'white-on-black' mode turns up for "Now" in VVV, and we get a blue option for Vroom (Or was I dreaming that?), my last little niggles will have been put to rest

[Numanoid]

I'm also a fully paid up member of the flat cult. I don't want the tech I use making demands on my limited daily mental bandwidth.

Your pledge to not buy more gear, means you can't have it

Fully paid up before 12/31/16.

But you got limited bandwidth, so you are not allowed to pay for extra bandwidth to download updates, that is cheating

[.jon]

Looks great

[mholloway]

I like the flat look, have always preferred it to silly shaded designs and needless flashy graphics, across the board....

if only the old Logic instruments would get updated now to the flat look, too. EXS24, ES2, etc, have the worst looking UI's of anything I've ever seen, seriously.

also:

"Render any combination of effect plug-ins to a selection of audio using Selection-based Processing."

This freaking RULES.

-M

[Sampleconstruct]

Side chaining instruments directly is a huge plus, up to now instruments has to be routed to a bus first and these are not delay compensated, so there was always a lag in the side chained signal unless one bounced the instrument in place and used that signal for side chaining.