Window-Frame Controls in Lion
Window-Frame Controls in Lion
- Subject: Window-Frame Controls in Lion
- From: Richard Somers <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:43:53 -0600
Controls in the window-frame area (that is, in the toolbar or bottom bar) normally have a textured style as stated in the OS X Human Interface Guidelines. In 10.7 Lion textured controls became semi-transparent with some of the background showing through. This results in most window-frame controls taking on more of a bland gray look.
Not all applications suffer from the bland gray toolbar look in Lion. Apple's iCal sports a bold new brown leather look. You may or may not like the new look but one thing is does have and that is sharply defined window-frame controls. Even though the window-frame background and controls are both brown, the contrast between the two is sharp. Compare this to the Finder window-frame in Lion where the controls are not nearly as sharp.
One measure of the contrast between the background and the control is the difference in brightness between the two. The fact that the background and control have the same base color makes this measurement especially meaningful.
Application OS X Base Color Background-Control Brightness
Finder 10.6 Gray 61 - 4 = 57%
Finder 10.7 Gray 67 - 21 = 46%
iCal 10.7 Brown 71 - 13 = 58%
These measurements correlate to the general perception that window-frame controls the new iCal and the old Finder are sharp and identifiable. Whereas window-frame controls in the new Finder appear less defined and muddy.
I have an application that relies heavily on the toolbar. In my option the usability of standard toolbar controls has been degraded in Lion because of this change.
Does this bother anyone else besides me?
--Richard
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