Yea the icon branding stuff has its issues (not entirely sold on the strategy/rationale), but I'm sure it'll die down. Criticism is to be expected with any major rebrand. The bigger issue is the UI/visual design within the app. Everything is essentially one color, which creates contrast issues for me at least. It's difficult to visually separate navigation & interface from the content. It all blends together with the white. In attempting to make the content stand out more, the layout is harder to visually scan. I also wonder what the accessibility experts would say about this as well.

Like the old saying "work to live, not living to work". I respect people having a side hustle but some people just want to reset & pursue outside interests. No need to feel pressured to burn both sides of the candle. But, yea this is useful for people who like the hustle and I guess that's the point of this post in that regard.

I wonder, is there a friendly auto-reply option you can configure? So you don't leave a person hanging, while passively setting boundaries?

I'm on Mac at work, windows 10 at home. I've always been a dual user over the years. A bit of a device agnostic. Prefer it that way. Will say, though over the years the Mac OS ui has been more aesthetically pleasing, I've always slightly preferred the overall UX of windows for a number of reasons too long to get into on here. And windows 10 ui has demonstrated a nice evolution from an aesthetic perspective.

But like I said, I dig both for different reasons, and I feel it helps with my work using both.

I dig it. My biggest grief with the IFE system is a lack of focus/simplicity. And because of the crowded/confused UI, the hit areas can be difficult to hit with accuracy. Granted, that may be more of a technology issue depending on the age of the equipment, but design can alleviate those pain points where possible.

Agreed. I know it's the cool thing to hate on unsolicited redesigns, but I like seeing them, as long as they're real attempts at serving both user and business needs. No cheating. Aesthetics are important though, and are certainly an undervalued part of the user experience with some. (http://zurb.com/triggers/faith-in-aesthetics).

Keep in mind that you also have respect what the brand is and where it's going, even if you don't necessarily agree with it. Ironically they're not just about music anymore (frankly that's taken quite the back burner) and haven't been for a long time. With some more art-direction & strategy this person might really have something. Really digging the visual design though.

Maurice, have you seen the article on fastcodesign arguing for the use of comic sans on the shirt (I know the article you posted about more than just one piece of work). I thought the article was a pretty interesting piece in defending the use of the typeface from an art-direction perspective:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3039705/why-comic-sans-works-so-well-on-the-i-cant-breathe-shirts

I've yet to decide whether I agree completely or not, but it does make an interesting argument nonetheless in this specific instance.

Thoughts? (also, nice running into you again dude on another website)

Agreed, unconscious bias is a real thing.

From an initial reaction, I find this specific comment a bit offensive (Speaking to @ Some Guy). Connecting your profession and your racial background isn't some ploy to get attention or get pity for getting the short stick in society. And specifically to our industry, there's a long history of connecting politics/discussions about race & privilege with art and design.

As far as joining minority groups, let's use me as an example. I'm Black, I admit. I work in an industry that is overwhelmingly white dominated. I'm used to usually being the only Black creative at an agency. I'll agree that I've learned that "being a victim" does not help my career, or representation in my field of work. (Though I would argue that generally speaking my behaviour, professionalism and skill is sometimes held to a higher standard because of preconceived notions based on the color of my skin, cue the violin though, right?) But anyway, yes you should be darn good at your job, regardless of where you come from.

But it's not about leaning on my race to get ahead or whatever your comments imply. Joining these groups is about showing that there are Black designers, art directors, developers (or whichever minority you belong to) out there. And while it can be tough, it is possible to have a career in a field that seems not well represented with people that look like you. Diversity is a really big problem in this industry, and I've seen it first hand. I was one of a handful of black design students in my graduating class, and through the years working at various agencies and speaking with colleagues, this lack of diversity hasn't necessarily gotten worse, but it for sure hasn't gotten all that better.

No one's looking for a pity party with these groups, just a little support & hope in knowing you're not alone, and hopefully inspiring others to follow their passions. I understand your perspective, and may even partially agree with some parts, but that's just how I feel on the subject, and have to respectfully disagree on the overall sentiment.

I'm writing this at like 12:30 in morning, so apologies for the long reply or unedited quality of this post.

I was pretty skeptical of their business strategy, even before reading this article. Interesting, just joined the beta yesterday too.