375: Reconsidering Consistency

375: Reconsidering Consistency

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock December 2, 2020 Duration: 38:56

This week, we talk about the tradeoffs and considerations of designing for consistency. In The Sidebar, we share tips and strategies for starting a podcast.


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The Sidebar:

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to full episodes going forward! Sign up at https://patreon.com/designdetails.

In this week's Sidebar, we share tips and strategies for starting your own design podcast. We need more!


Follow up:

  • Jay Sowell brought up a great point on Patreon about the current shortcomings and limitations of widgets in the Apple ecosystem. We speculate about their future.
  • Tobias Gärder tweeted: After an unexpectedly easy transition to android from forever iphones I actually tried to switch to PC a year ago, nooot as easy, but been on it since. First hard to find hardware that felt good enough (went for Surface Laptop 13") but Windows.. yikes.
  • We have more design tricks to save people from themselves:
    • Divya Tak mentioned a pattern where users have to confirm the name of the thing they are deleting, like when you delete a repository on GitHub.
    • Havana Nguyen mentioned three:
      • "Don't show me posts like this" tips on content sites.
      • "Did you mean today or tomorrow?" helpers for when you set an alarm near midnight.
      • The simplified "driving mode" players on apps like Audible and Spotify.
    • Jordan Morgan showed an example of a confirmation toast after a drag and drop interaction. It reminded us of the new iOS 14 pasteboard toast.

Main topic:

This week we talk about the tradeoffs and considerations when designing for consistency. Specifically, we talk about Google's recent icons redesign and the new Big Sur rounded square shape for app icons.


Cool Things:

  • Brian shared Omniverse II, a buck-wild Line Rider track that David Lu created over 11 years.
  • Marshall shared Good Sudoku, a beautiful and simple sudoku app for iOS and iPadOS.

Design Details on the Web:


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Every week, Brian Lovin and Marshall Bock settle in for a thoughtful, often meandering chat that pulls back the curtain on how things are made. Their Design Details podcast lives in the rich space where technology and the arts intersect, focusing less on polished case studies and more on the real, sometimes messy, work of design. You’ll hear them dissect the nuances of product decisions, debate the evolving culture of creative teams, and share personal stories from their own experiences in the industry. It feels less like a lecture and more like eavesdropping on a conversation between two deeply knowledgeable friends. The discussions regularly venture into the philosophical side of craft, examining why certain choices resonate and how design shapes our daily interactions with the world. For anyone curious about the thinking behind the pixels and interfaces, this show offers a consistent, grounded perspective. Tuning in provides a sense of community and a candid look at the process, making it a staple for designers and creators who appreciate substance over flash.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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