Cocoia Blog
blog.cocoia.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2008
Sebastian Cocoia writes about Mac and iOS interface design, typography, notifications, and app design, and interviewed Mike Matas.
What HN saysHN links it for its Mike Matas interview and its article on the problem of notifications, in discussions of Mac and iPhone interface choices.
19HN people shared it
6linked it in comments
14stories submitted
169story points
7 years agolast shared
2008people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Getting Notified2 people · 7 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 2Interview with Mike Matas (formerly with Delicious Monster and Apple)2 people · 7 points · first shared 2010 · 1 comments on HN
- 3Let’s Pick A Phone2 people · 4 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 4Swiss interface syndrome2 people · first shared 2010
- 5IPad UI Roundup1 people · 70 points · first shared 2010 · 17 comments on HN
- 6Snow Leopard UI roundup1 people · 34 points · first shared 2009 · 5 comments on HN
- 7HP webOS event roundup.1 people · 34 points · first shared 2011 · 5 comments on HN
- 8My Vaio UX1 people · 3 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 9Designing Classics iPhone app1 people · 3 points · first shared 2008 · discussion on HN
- 10DoubleTwist Media Player for Andriod1 people · 2 points · first shared 2010 · 1 comments on HN
- 11The Rise and Fall of XMB1 people · 2 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 12The first Photoshop icon1 people · 1 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
- 13Swiss Interface Syndrome1 people · 1 points · first shared 2008 · discussion on HN
- 14How Apple's icons were designed1 people · 1 points · first shared 2008 · discussion on HN
- 15Creative interaction1 people · first shared 2020
What HN people wrote when they linked it
tuhin · 2011-03-01
On a sidenote: Sebastian (@cocoia) posted a great article on the problem of notifications the other day: http://blog.cocoia.com/2011/notify/
mattparcher · 2010-12-20
My least-favorite trend in Mac app design: using Helvetica instead of Lucida Grande, the system font, often because Helvetica is the default on iOS (cf. Reeder, a Mac port of an iOS app).
Why is this wrong?
1) Lucida Grande was optimized for legibility on low- and medium-resolution screens [1], and Helvetica is a 50-year-old print font.
2) Lucida Grande is the system font, and other fonts stick out like a sore-thumb, contrary to the consistency designer’s strive for [2].
The problem, of course, is that Apple keeps using Helvetica in their own Mac apps, most recently across vast swaths of iPhoto, seemingly for the sole benefit of making it more like an iOS app (especially when full screen), disregarding much of what makes a Mac app unique.
[1] http://www.tug.org/store/lucida/designnotes.html
[2] http://blog.cocoia.com/2008/swiss-interface-syndrome/
DonHopkins · 2020-02-13
SimCity 2000 had a random newspaper article generator that would tell you stories based on stuff happening in your city.
https://www.abandonwaredos.com/abandonware-screenshot.php?gid=630&…
https://procedural-generation.tumblr.com/post/134086657418/simcity-200…
https://lparchive.org/SimCity-2000/Update%205/
http://blog.cocoia.com/2007/creative-interaction/
flocial · 2013-04-17
Mike Matas talked about it here:
http://blog.cocoia.com/2010/interview-mike-matas/
petercooper · 2010-05-08
I see Helvetica on the iPhone platform as more of an aberration (and possibly merely the result of license bickering, not through serious consideration). It doesn't seem to make any sense to switch to it on the portable devices. This has been partially mocked here: http://blog.cocoia.com/2008/swiss-interface-syndrome/
Anyway, the screenshot of the Apple booking interface shows Lucida Grande in use. When viewed on the iPad/iPhone, it'll have to drop back to Helvetica instead of the intended font. Hopefully Apple will see sense, though, and add Lucida Grande to OS 4.0 or beyond since its absence makes little sense.
arth33 · 2009-03-20
I really like Sebastiaan de With's stuff. If you read his blog he sometimes explains the development process he uses. Here's a post he had on an icon he made for Hyperspaces.
http://blog.cocoia.com/2008/06/13/faster-than-light-making-the-hypersp…
Icon Resource is also a good place to get information.
http://www.iconresource.net/