Roundrect Dictator
App icons across Apple’s three most popular operating systems share a similar rounded square mask, and it is a downgrade. Simon B. Støvring correctly calls out the “expressive, varied app icons, a case of character over conformity” as a highlight of past versions of MacOS. I miss detailed and artistic app icons plenty. Indulging in realistic textures and thoughtful rendering was not only a differentiator for the Mac; it also conveyed the sense an app was built with a high degree of care.
Perhaps that is largely a product of nostalgia. Change can be uncomfortable, but it could be for good reasons. Stripping icons of their detail might not be bad, just different. But wrapping everything in a uniform shape? That is, dare I say, an objective degradation.
Since MacOS Big Sur debuted the precursor to this format, I have found it harder to differentiate between applications which, as I understand it, is the very function and purpose of an icon. I know this has been a long-running gripe for those of us of a certain age, but it remains true, and a walk through the history of Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines indicates the company also understands it to be true.
[…]
Apple used to guide designers on how to make smaller icons by removing details and simplifying. Something you will often hear from designers is the fun and challenge of very small icons; how does one convey the same impression of fidelity when you have exactly 256 pixels to use? It is a delicate feat. Now, Apple simply says no icon — no matter how large — is deserving of detail. This, to me, betrays a lack of trust in the third-party designers it apparently celebrates.
Previously:
- macOS Tahoe 26 Developer Beta 2
- Icon Composer Notes
- macOS Tahoe’s New Theming System
- macOS Tahoe 26 Announced
- Liquid Glass
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What happens when you paste a custom icon onto an application? Does it get "squircle'd"?
Or is it not even allowed anymore to paste an icon on an app, because that would violate the sanctity of the app, or some bullshit like that?
I launch all apps through Sherlock (or whatever the big search bar is called). The icons aren't that useful to me. I thick of it more as a lost branding opportunity.
@Mike Yes, you can still override the icon by pasting, which works as expected, but it really sticks out in the Dock because then that icon doesn’t get the dynamic changes that are applied to all the others.
Seeing all the nice objects getting abolished in Jeff Johnson’s linked article makes me feel like the Crush ad made some feel.
That last screenshot is ridiculous. Tint your app icons to make them all look the same…. so you gotta do a double take to make sure you’re launching the right app. Who wants that? Each app icon is supposed to be unique.
Everything looks so dull and hollow. You can see right through it… i guess that’s the point
Apple should waive $100 dev fee this year to help cover the cost of forcing everyone to make new app icons
