The Anatomy Of A Successful Logo Redesign

Posted inReposts2013-07-14
The Anatomy Of A Successful Logo Redesign Familiar logos are like overly attentive suitors: They’re so naggingly present that their charms are lost to you–until, one day, they’re gone. Then you realize just how much you took a shine to that Gap, Tropicana, or American Airlines icon. The replacement logos only serve to remind you of what you liked before everything changed. That’s how we usually react when a brand is overhauled–we notice only the “bad” redesigns. But occasionally, a company’s logo undergoes such a subtle transformation that it’s barely noticeable, even though if you were to compare the old…

Optimise Text Search in Core Data

Posted inArticles2013-07-08
We typically use one of the following text search predicates with costs in terms of performance, Beginwith, Endswith ($) These are the cheapest queries that are possible in case of text  comparisons. In these cases first or last few characters are checked with the text and if the match is not found, code exits.  Equality ($) We can consider this query as similar to that of Beginswith, which checks all the characters in text. Contains ($$) This is bit more expensive as it keeps checking for a match in whole text length. Matches ($$$) This is the most expensive query in case…

Improving Performance and Stability of Core Data

Posted inArticles2013-07-04
Fetch only what is required. Your UI can not show all the data that exists in the table anyway. Don’t put extra pressure on core data to fetch data what you are not displaying on the screen. Every app has a different requirement for performance. You need to test the performance of your app by experimenting with batchSizes and fetching objects as faults. If you are not going to update or read managedObject relations, try using NSDictionaryResultType for fetchRequest result type. Specify which properties needs to be fetched. Use attribute types smartly, don’t use string for all. Numerical operations are always…

Scanner Update

Posted inArticles2013-06-07
After UX study on previous version, We updated the screen so as to make more simpler, by removing things which were creating clutter. Full View - http://cl.ly/image/1a0z2D2n0K3r

VCPaginatedScrollView

Posted inArticles2013-06-02
VCPaginatedScrollViewOriginally built to be used as a base control for creating photo slide show control. This is a generic control that can be used for any kind of paginated view. Currently only supports horizontal scrolling.

iOS 7 Speculation

Posted inReposts2013-05-11
iOS 7 Speculation One of the most satisfying things about the iOS platform is the affordance and tactility of the interfaces which urge and woo you into touching them. This is the most logical UI speculation about iOS7. Designers kept on making design speculations about the iOS7 UI and stuff. They forgot one thing, usability and clarity comes before making UI “look” good.  In case of windows flat UI (Designers are in love with it, few even think its modern!), lack of affordance is the basic problem. Making something simple doesn’t mean making it minimalistic. Clearly while trying to reduce…

Alcatraz : Xcode Package Manager

Posted inReposts2013-04-29
Alcatraz : Xcode Package ManagerAlcatraz is an open-source package manager for Xcode. It lets you discover and install plugins, templates and color schemes without the need for manually cloning or copying files. It installs itself as a part of Xcode and it feels like home.

Pantaloons’ ground floor comes at the TOP!!

Posted inArticles2013-04-22
Saw this amazing example of bad UX today, the directory of pantaloons shop! Its supposed to be a simple map of the floors. why does ground floor is at the top and top floor at the bottom? Directional arrow next to ground floor suggests that if you go down, you reach the first floor! How can people mess up such a simple thing?

Falling’s just like flying except there’s a more permanent destination.

Posted inArticles2013-04-20
Sherlock: Why are you doing all of this?Moriarty: It’d be so funny.Sherlock: You don't want money or power, not really. What is it all for?Moriarty: I want to solve the problem. Our problem. The Final Problem. It's going to start very soon, Sherlock. The Fall. But don't be scared. Falling's just like flying except there's a more permanent destination.Sherlock: Never liked riddles.Moriarty: Learn to. Because I owe you a fall, Sherlock. I. O. U.

BRAUN

Posted inArticles2013-04-16
First digital clock, where I didn’t feel the need to read user manual for setting time! BRAUN it is.

MacBook Pro mid 2009 SSD Upgrade Issues

Posted inArticles2013-04-11
Upgraded my Mid 2009 MacBook Pro 15” to 8GB DDR3 RAM and 64GB OCZ Octane S2 drive… Faced few issues initially, system wasn’t booting up from new SSD. Tried to downgrade EFI firmware from 1.7 to 1.6. It didn’t help much. Then updated SSD firmware to latest using firmware tools… And know what, it just works!  Currently running ML 10.8.3 with EFI Firmware 1.7 without any issues. Here is the link that helped a lot…  http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?104990-NEW!!-OCZ-Bootable-Toolbox-Mac-Edition

IPL iPhone Apps : Shit that you don’t want to install

Posted inArticles2013-04-04
Really??? Whats bad with these apps? Bad Types, not at all readable on the device. Specially Kings XI punjab app! Almost none of the apps really do follow UI guidelines F**ked up tab bars F**ked up control alignments Ok I understand about having brand colour apps but still like this??? Look at RCB app, I mean really? You really want me to install that shit on iPhone?

Posted inReposts2013-03-30
http://vimeo.com/19125863 thechoicesthops: A little over a year, ago three German students tested the design viability of a shiny black cube. They asked established designers and design critics to assess the cube. Dieter Rams was one of the interviewees and he talks about his ‘less, but better’ philosophy. I agree with him so very, very much. ‘More’ is a bankrupt approach. (Source: http://vimeo.com/)

Five simple steps to better typography

Posted inReposts2013-03-26
Five simple steps to better typographyTypography, I find, is still a bit of mystery to a lot of designers. The kind of typography I’m talking about is not your typical “What font should I use” typography but rather your “knowing your hanging punctuation from your em-dash” typography. Call me a little bit purist but this bothers me. So, in an attempt to spread the word here’s the first of five simple steps to better typography. To kick it off, part one is about the Measure.

Walkthroughs and Tutorials

Posted inArticles2013-03-20
I personally think if something needs a walkthrough maybe its time to redesign the interaction. It generally means the app is over-designed, i.e. instead of solving the problem, we are trying to delight the user more.  Ofcourse delighting the user is must, but it should come through better usability and interaction first, and then through UI. I feel by adding walkthrough we try to make user feel that its rocket science, when it really should not be. Mailbox app gestures originated from app… Clear. Mailbox guys took it one step further. I loved the app at first look and kept…