Apple built OS X to have photo realistic icons only to reduce it all to squircles and one texture (glass) decades later. Distinguishing between applications and identifying functions was so much easier and faster when different shapes were used.
I remember this well but not initially knowing it at the time when branching on to mac at Snow Leopard time, just being in awe of the gorgeously rendered icons, it was an
"of course and why not" moment!
I've written it before but I think Jobs time at Pixar influenced and enriched his visual expectations, enhancing them during this period for all our benefit, you only have to watch Toy Story 4 to see how iteratively incredible the rendering and mastery of the art was in that movie, we need to see that back.
Another thing I've written before, was that I had a sneaking suspicion Ai was involved in Tahoe design (for those that really couldn't or thought it was the bees knees) or crept in somehow someway even if a little (figma???), and maybe I'll never know for sure but defo UI like everything else is being affected by Ai, no spirit in the output.
While I'm somewhat biased having trained and worked in Animation, it allows me to know what it is, it really requires all the art and design talents inputs and outputs to culminate to produce such films as the like of Pixar who relaly became the Apple of 3D Movie biz and changed the industry (Renderman) again, couldn't have been done without Jobs input,
Animation, of that level, it's an experientially informed pursuit, it does not come out of nothing, and right now I can't think of a better metaphor but we need more Toy Story quality, craftsmanship and artisty infused back or as welcome companion if even just macOS X, the past bridged via Jobs but welcome some or the rich culture and spirit back under the hood and cleanse our eyes, and the chances of even a fraction of that prospect are looking good with Godeln gate, but let's not get ahead of ourselves yet!
Can you tell I'm looking forward to Toy Story 5
😀
As part of your open visual training course here at MR, it is recommended you take a field trip with your inner child and any outer children within your care this summer.
😉
At least that's Apple's tradition. macOS: Fischer Price OS since 2001.
I had that reaction in the early days of Aqua but not being a mac user, as you can read from above when it came to Snow Leopard for me it was wow this is the computing I've been missing!
Having elements of icons reach outside the squircle area, refracting their surroundings, would kinda fit in with the Liquid Glass ideology. The Dock background in itself isn't much to refract, but the idea of layers in icons would get visually stronger when breaking the boundary.
Icons as works of Art, this isn't hard, Apple nailed it under jobs, no-one else did and or has since afaict, this is a cultural pursuit, anything less becomes inhuman.
