It’s a strong held belief of mine (and many others) that good design is the design you don’t notice. It sits there like it’s always belonged there, such as the stop sign and the red cross. So when I came across these GUI (Graphic User Interface) designs for The New York Times iPhone application, they reminded me of something you wouldn’t notice, they just worked. The GUI was put together by Felix Sockwell, Khoi Vinh, and Caryn Tutino, who had to create the icons in greyscale and black and white at a size of 29 x 29 pixels.

Felix’s website has a nice exploration of the their ideas as well as Felix’s thoughts and a bit of the process as well. One of the most interesting parts is how much The New York Times flip-flopped on the GUI for the Obituaries section, as they deemed many of the ideas too morbid, finally deciding upon using a flower to signify death. Does that seem a bit off to anyone else? Anyhow, check out the rest of the sketches and ideas, it’s an interesting inside look.

Bobby

6 Comments »

1. wow. that is some nice design. not sure what else the could’ve done for the obituaries… X-(

   Comment by Rob McDougall — July 14, 2008 #

2. hahaha… i really like the flower with the skull in it for the Obituaries.

   Comment by maxjue — July 14, 2008 #

3. I think a flower is a nice peaceful idea for an Obituaries section. Good work guys, the design looks great!

   Cant wait to get my iPhone.

   Comment by Pete — July 15, 2008 #

4. Yes very nice design, but poor techno. This app doesn’t work on many iPhone (mine is v.1), still don’t know why…

   Comment by christian — July 15, 2008 #

5. You have to upgrade to 2.0 or it won’t work :)

   Comment by Bobby — July 15, 2008 #

6. lol… the thoughtof reading obituaries on an iPhone of all things…

   Comment by Jason — July 15, 2008 #

Leave a comment